Skipping Through Beacon
by OnlyTheResults
Summary: The Arc family, much like the Schnees, have an inheritable Semblance. However Jaune's father refused to talk to him about it. Now at Beacon, Jaune wishes his Semblance was unlocked. His wish is soon granted, giving him power beyond anyone else. At least, if he could control it. Watch as Jaune skips through Beacon, just not in the way you think. (First fic)
1. Chapter 1: Sudden Semblance

In the harsh world of Remnant, there existed a power all creatures with a soul possessed. They were called Aura and Semblances. Some were powerful, some were not. However the most intriguing Semblances were ones that people inherited. The most famous of these inherited Semblances would be the Glyph's of the Schnee family. However, another, lesser known inheritable Semblance existed in the form of the Arc family, having acquired it after the joining of their blood with another family long ago.

This Semblance was about to change Jaune D. Arc's world. For better and for worse.

* * *

Beacon Academy was an experience for Jaune. One that had its up's and its downs (many, many downs) but an experience all the same. It was the a week since the end of the Beacon Dance and another day of classes. Sitting Combat Class, Team JNPR and their sister team, RWBY, were watching the current match-up between Ren and Weiss. The 'R' in JNPR was enthusiastically cheered on by his partner Nora, as well as his other two team members. The 'RBY' of RWBY tossed in their cheers for their team member too, with Ruby shouting so loud that Professor Goodwitch had to remind her to stay quiet.

Ren opened his attack with a hail of bullets that almost hit Weiss if not for her glyphs. The ice glyphs beneath her flared to life as she used them to weave out of the storm of fire coming from Ren. As Jaune watched their fight, he couldn't help but sigh slightly. While everyone knew how much he used to pine for Weiss's affections, he wasn't looking at her. No, today he was looking at those shining glyphs. Blue and black went out from her, her Semblance flaring as she fought with Ren.

While Jaune had been getting training from Pyrrha, for which he was extremely grateful, she couldn't do much with the fact that his Semblance was still unknown. It was another little failure that piled on the others for him, despite his partner assuring him it was ok ("You never trained in a Combat School Jaune, it's ok for you to not know what your Semblance is" she would say). Jaune didn't quite agree. Despite the gains he had made in fighting, he was kept leagues below his cohorts even beyond his lack of training. They all had their Semblances while he had an admittedly large Aura pool.

Jaune audibly sighed, though only Pyrrha heard it. "Jaune?" she asked in a tone that oozed concern. Her emerald eyes looked worriedly at him. "It's nothing" he said with the wave of his hand. "I was just thinking." Pyrrha looked as if she was about to contest him, seeing right through his lie, but the sound of Ren being eliminated turned her attention away.

The fight was close, but Weiss's glyphs had given her the edge over Ren that brought her to victory. Both teams cheered for their member as the class came to a close. As he stepped out of the class while standing next to Pyrrha. While she was concerned earlier, a quick reassuring smile from Jaune eased her worries as they walked together with Team RWBY as well as Ren and Nora. Jaune almost sighed again, but held it back to keep Pyrrha from worrying again. He didn't want to ruin the comfort of being so close to her. _Not a chance _he thought glumly. His infatuation with Weiss had long ended after he began to open his eyes to his own partner during the Dance. She was everything he wanted to be. Strong. Smart. On top of the world. He didn't deserve her and he was sure that he had no chance with her in regards to his feelings.

Heck, he wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to date him. He was loser HQ. The Head Honcho of the losers, even.

All the same, he walked back to their dorm room to prepare for Professor Port's class. As Ren and Nora entered, Pyrrha held his arm to keep him from entering. "Hmm?" he said, a confused look on his face. One look from her emerald hues broke his facade.

"It was just... Weiss and her Semblance. All of you guys really. I'm just... I wish I knew what mine was..." he said with a sigh as he came out and explained what was keeping him down in class earlier. Pyrrha gave him an understanding smile before putting a firm hand on his shoulder. The touch made his throat hitch.

"It's ok, Jaune. Like I said before. None of us think of you any lesser for not having your Semblance unlocked. You'll discover it in time." Her words were always reassuring, but he felt another wave of self-doubt. "I don't know if I'm able..."

Pyrrha didn't let him get away with that either. "You're much stronger than you give yourself credit for Jaune. Trust me. I. Don't put yourself down so much, I..."

She searched for the words to say but couldn't. She had so much she wanted to say, beyond just his lack of a Semblance and his self-doubts. Pyrrha wished she had the courage to confess her feelings but once again she failed.

Before Jaune could reply, the closeness between the partners making him nervous, his heart pounding, the voice of another girl broke them apart. The voice belonged to none other than Yang Xiao-Long, the blonde bombshell of an older sister to Ruby. "JAUNE!" she called out as Pyrrha and him broke away quickly. "Yea, Yang?"

"Why didn't you tell me your sister was going to be in Vale, THIS WEEKEND?" Jaune gulped as Yang questioned him with a hand on her hip.

There was another downside to being Jaune Arc. Besides the immense pressure of his warrior forefathers, one his younger sisters was a world famous popstar. "Oh!" he said meekly, realizing how he should have known Yang would want tickets from him. "Remember our deal, Vomit-Boy!" she teased. Jaune nodded as he gulped. One of his first memories of Yang was her almost throwing him across the room in excitement he revealed his younger sister was _the _Trish Arc-Una, lead singer for the hit new band Team Buccellati. It turned out that he entirety of Team RWBY were massive fans.

So they had come to an agreement that Jaune would get them tickets for concerts, early access to her newest songs AND autographed posters. Jaune was lucky that Trish was more than happy to oblige her big brother and his friends. "I'll call her tonight! I swear!"

Yang looked at him with her lilac eyes before nodding with a smirk. "Well you best be quick! Ruby has never gone to one live before and she's DYING to go. She even said she'd go a week without cookies! A week!" Yang sounded exasperated but both the Knight and Spartan understood. It must have been deadly serious if Ruby Rose was willing to give up her prized snack food.

Pyrrha tried to conceal a smile with her hand as Jaune rubbed the back of his neck. The nervousness of before had evaporated at least as they entered their dorm. "At least there are some girls who aren't totally head over heels for her music!" he joked to Pyrrha and Nora, the latter quickly agreeing with her leader. Pyrrha only chuckled as she discreetly hid her scrolls playlist of Team Buccellati songs.

* * *

Jaune Arc dreamed often of having a Semblance. In his dreams, he would be fighting alongside his team and with RWBY. As usual they would be doing acts of incredible power with their Semblances. Ruby was flying across the forest, cutting Grimm apart while Nora bounced from Beowulf to Beowulf with her hammer, her muscles emitting light electricity each time she crushed one. Each and everyone of them were incredible.

But unlike reality, in his dreams, Jaune wasn't useless. He could truly fight! And even better, he had his Semblance. In his dreams it was always vague. Some undefined power that made him crush his foes. At the end of his dreams, he would admit his feelings for his partner and she would reciprocate. They always ended with a kiss. It was bittersweet in a way. He knew she'd never return feelings for a loser like himself.

But tonight was different. While before his Semblance was vague and undefined, tonight it was very, very defined. Much like Ruby's, his dream Semblance changed his appearance lightly. On his forehead was something that felt heavy, something he couldn't quite tell. Unlike before, this wasn't some power-up, but something he didn't know to use, yet felt so natural.

As the same fight against the Grimm went on, Jaune looked to use his Semblance as before, but instead, he felt something move around him. His blond hair was no longer short, but long. It waved in front of his eyes and in it, he saw three Ursa come from the left clearing of the forest to attack Blake.

Shouting out to her in warning, Blake turned to see, as predicted, three Ursa coming from behind her. The same thing occurred again and again in the dream. His hair would show him future events without fail. They would always occur.

Even at the end, his hair showed him kissing Pyrrha, ten seconds before it occurred.

Then, Jaune woke up to the sound of an alarm. Groaning, the Knight rubbed his eyes slowly as he adjusted to his waking state. His hands found his sheets and tore them off his body as he rose to partake in his morning rituals.

Wake up. Shower. Brush teeth. Shave. Restroom. Clothes. Armor.

It was simple enough and it was something he had gotten into the groove of. It was monotony like this that made him feel like he belonged here for a short while. Jaune looked around to see his sleeping teammates. All three of them remained asleep, something Jaune wished he could be doing. His gaze lingered on Pyrrha for a moment longer, her sleeping face buried slightly into her pillow. It was incredibly cute, but made Jaune sigh again. _Not a chance, Arc. Didn't you learn anything with Weiss?_ He scolded himself for thinking himself worth her affections.

As Jaune rose from his bed, he felt wobbly, like there was an extra weight on his shoulders. Yawning, Jaune tried to ignore it as he made his way to the shower of Team JNPR. Despite his best efforts, the extra weight remained. His forehead started to feel heavier, and there was even a slight itch. He wrote it off as nothing and grit his teeth.

* * *

When he stepped out of the shower, the feeling still did not go away. Even during it, the water that fell down his face felt odd. As if it was moving over something extra on his head. Jaune looked down and saw the very edge of a strand of his blonde hair.

_Ren is going to enter the room in three seconds _

Jaune didn't know why he knew that, but in that sliver of hair he saw Ren enter the room.

Then Ren entered the room. Jaune turned to look at him. On the face of Lie Ren was an open jaw, something the stoic ninja rarely showed. Jaune knew that and moved to ask what was wrong. "Ren? What's wrong?"

Ren lifted a finger that pointed to his forehead. The heaviness was still there but Jaune was focused on his teammate instead. "My forehe?-"

He saw it when he turned around and looked into the mirror. Embedded in his forehead was a face. It was pink, it's teeth bared and its eyes angry and green. Jaune exploded in a scream of horror and fell over backwards. Looking up at Ren, he saw in his hair once again, images. Rushing after Ren was Nora and Pyrrha. Each of them gasped as they too saw the face in front of them.

Then, just as he saw it in the hair, they came in and did exactly as he saw. "What's happening?" he screamed as he saw Pyrrha. She was looking shocked until she put a finger to her chin and slowly began to smile.

That was the last he saw before he passed out.

* * *

Jaune ended up waking up two days later. Initially he thought everything that had occurred was a dream, until Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch were there to speak to him, alongside his team.

He nearly passed out again when he explained that he appeared to have manifested a Semblance. Jaune couldn't believe it at first, until Pyrrha took a picture of his forehead with the pink face and showed it to him. "We believe, Mr. Arc, that your Semblance is the power of precognition" the Headmaster began to explain.

"Precog-whatsa?" Jaune asked confusingly. "It means you can see what will occur in the future before it actually occurs, Mr Arc." Jaune looked flabbergasted. A few days ago he was desperately wishing he had a Semblance, and now, he had one that sounded incredibly powerful! "Well... uh... what can I do with it, Professor?"

Professor Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "Well I have been told you have a knack for strategy, Mr Arc. It's no wonder your Semblance is one that lets you see the battle before it occurs." Jaune still looked apprehensive about this entire thing. "How long will I be staying here, then?" he said with a cough as Ozpin made to leave the nurses room. "Well, the nurse saw no reason to keep you here anymore, so I'd say you're free to leave."

Jaune felt relieved that he could leave already, jumping up from his bed to leave with his teammates. Nora was nearly exploding with questions for Jaune.

"Does it have a name? What else can it do?! CAN YOU SEE MY FUTURE?" she asked with utmost excitement, looking halfway towards Ren. "Nora" he said with a calming voice. "Jaune's just discovered his Semblance. It'll be a while before any of us know it's full capability."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "I suppose we'll have to add Semblance training to our routine, Jaune." Her smile was bright, excited even. Jaune felt his heart flutter slightly. "Yea. But uh, Pyrrha... I think I know one thing about how this thing works already." Jaune sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as he took a breath. "It um, only shows me the future for ten seconds and uh-"

Pyrrha looked confused, as did Nora and Ren. "What is it Jaune?"

"I need to be looking into hair to see the future!" he whimpered out, resulting in Nora plastering the biggest grin he'd ever seen across her face. Ren hummed for a moment as Pyrrha held back a giggle. "It seems you need to grow out your hair then. I'd say for now, use Yang's."

Jaune groaned as Nora broke into even greater laughter and Pyrrha managed to get a "I'm sorry!" out through her giggling fit.

While discovering his Semblance was exciting, two things were nerve wracking for him. One, the fact he had to look into a girls hair to use his Semblance and two:

The angry pink face on his forehead showed no signs of going away yet.

It was going to be a rough few training sessions for Jaune Diavolo Arc.


	2. Chapter 2: Epitaph

Trying to figure out how to control his Semblance was turning out to be quite harder than he first imagined. Instead of jumping into action like he thought would, he had to work with Pyrrha in order to try and gain some form of mastery over it. As of now, the Semblance seemed to be perpetually active, which meant the angry pink face in his forehead had been on him for at least a week now.

Team RWBY had thought it hilarious, as did most other students, causing Jaune quite a bit of grumbling whenever Yang pulled out one joke or another.

Speaking of Yang, it turned out only her hair was long enough for him to look into for a while as he grew his own blond locks out. That on its own was a great source of humor for the girl.

—- One week ago —-

Jaune Arc was fidgeting in combat class. He knew that Professor Goodwitch expected him to try and use his Semblance in a duel, but he didn't have the hair to do it. Having sat down besides Yang, he coughed lightly and spoke up to her as they both half-watched Blake run around Russel.

"What's up Vomit boy?" she said with a smirk as Jaune rolled his eyes. "I need your help with my Semblance, Yang..." he said softly, embarrassed about what he was about to ask of her. One of her eyebrows shot up in interest as he spoke. "Oh? Whatcha need help with?"

Jaune mumbled out his next words.

"Ineedtouseyourhair"

Yang's smirk grew wider. "What was that? You're gonna have to speak up Jaune!" Yang fully well knew what he had said, but she wasn't gonna waste this opportunity.

"I need to look into your hair to use my Semblance" he groaned as Blake exited the arena.

"Well, well, well, aren't you forward Lady-killer!" she laughed. "You wanna bury your face into my hair, huh? Right in front of Ruby too!?"

Ruby gave a low "Eep!" As Jaune groaned. Yang laughed harder as Jaune's name was called by Goodwitch. "Go ahead and look, I'm sure it'll be fun for you." Jaune murmured his thanks as he focused on his Semblance, trying to funnel his aura into it. He felt light-weight, like when a Bullhead was taking off and your stomach jumped. Yang felt something too, the feeling of her hair moving without any wind breezing by. A low rippling sound was made as Jaune peered into her hair.

—- Present —-

Groaning again as Pyrrha led them off the roof, Jaune looked up from keeping his hands on his knees to looking at Pyrrha. At least Jaune knew that if he ever garnered the courage to admit his feelings for the Spartan, he could use Epitaph to see if she would reject him.

Jaune had come to name his semblance Epitaph. Both JNPR and RWBY liked it and frankly he thought it was cool. What he wouldn't say is that he saw it on some Semblance naming website on his scroll.

Despite the hardships that came with training his Semblance, he was relieved he had finally unlocked his. It had even come in handy with his friends, both in fights and in their everyday lives! Jaune thought back to the time Weiss asked him for some help! Help from him!

— One day ago—

Weiss approached Jaune's table at the library. While before she was loathe to ask him for help, ever since the dance the two had become just as close as the rest of their friend group. Weiss found Jaune much more dependable and like-able as a person when he wasn't embarrassingly trying to win her affections. She now had the luxury of watching him embarrassingly fail to tell Pyrrha of his obvious crush on her, and vice versa.

"Hello Jaune" she said in a pleasant voice, informal but carrying the constant hint of superiority on it. It was simply the way she spoke with friends. "Uh, hey Weiss" he greeted back, looking up from his textbook in the library. Weiss smiled and took a seat, trying her hardest to ignore the ugly, and angry pink face on his forehead. It was something truly unnerving to look at, like it was part of something else that just hadn't fully appeared yet.

"What's up?" Jaune inquired as he sat back in his seat.

"I need some help with..."

"Neptune" he said firmly. Weiss's eyes opened slightly before narrowing. "Did you use..."

Jaune just laughed. "I don't need precognition to know what you need help with, Weiss!" The Heiress was about to say something scathing to the blonde knight before she broke out into a grin. "I suppose it isn't much of a secret. I still haven't thanked you for what you did at the Dance..."

Jaune simply shrugged. "It's nothing. We're friends right? Friends look out for each other." Weiss smiled at that. _Friends. _Weiss had lived a life without any true friends. Having the dolt of a knight as her friend as well pleased her greatly. "So, whatcha need me to do?" Weiss re-straightened her back as she spoke again. "Well, I thought that if maybe... you could use your Semblance to see if he'd go on a date with me if I asked? I haven't been able to catch him since the dance and... I also thought it would be a good way for you to train with your Semblance."

Jaune hummed for a moment, the gears turning in his head. He couldn't deny her logic. His Semblance could get a practical use and he'd be helping Weiss with her boy problems. "Sure! Where is Neptune?"

Weiss broke into another large smile, the Ice Queen melting her barriers for him. "With Sun in the cafeteria. Let's go!"

Jaune followed behind Weiss as they passed through the halls of Beacon all the way to the cafeteria. Though most tried to hide it, Jaune knew people were looking at him. At Epitaph. The knight rubbed his neck awkwardly, feeling self conscious about himself.

"Don't mind them" Weiss said softly. "You should be proud, Jaune. You'll learn to control it, soon. You've always tried harder than everyone. Though I'd never admit it before" she admitted now. Jaune perked up with a chuckle. "I'll make sure to keep it secret." Weiss cracked a smile, trying to keep up her air of uprightness regardless of how much she utterly failed at it. "You better, dolt."

As they entered the cafeteria, both teens scanned for the blue haired member of Team SSSN. The eyes of the white haired Heiress lit up when she saw Neptune over by a table with the rest of his team. "Alright Jaune..." she took a breath and the knight found himself copying her. The pair walked closer, as Jaune took breaths to try and focus his aura, focus his Semblance. _Use what Pyrrha taught you. Focus. Channel your aura. You've got a lot of it Arc! Snow angel is counting on you! _Jaune broke out of his impromptu mental pep-talk when Weiss snapped her fingers at him.

Nervously, Jaune stepped forward and looked at Neptune and Sun. They were very close, and Jaune figured he could see what would happen when Weiss went ahead with fate. His breathing leveled as he focused his aura, channeling his soul to try and control his Semblance.

Weiss was drowned out alongside the chatter of the cafeteria. He'd done something like this once or twice before, focusing his aura to try and will his Semblance into active use like the rest of the Hunters and Huntresses in training did. His mind came to a crawl as an image of Pyrrha came into view. That was his clarity. His focus.

Opening his eyes, the boy felt his long hair float up. Looking into the bangs of his hair the blonde knight could hear the ripple that signaled his Semblance going into effect. Within his hair an image began to form and then play.

_Weiss walked up to Neptune with a small but nervous smile and tried to get his attention. Regrettably, his focus was on two other women. He almost totally ignored Weiss if it wasn't for Sun flicking him on the shoulder. Turning to her, he meekly greeted her before the Heiress stammered out here request for an outing to Vale. Neptune coughed for a while before Sun flicked him again. The blue haired boy coughed out a low "Sure", much to Weiss's delight. _

Jaune's long hair then fell to their usual resting place as he felt a surge of aura course through him. Weiss looked hopeful, as Jaune refocused in his surroundings. "Well?" she asked with slight impatience.

"He says yes... After Sun makes him." Weiss looked deflated, but only for a moment. She stood up straight and shook her head. The Ice Queen then marched up to Neptune and everything Jaune had just saw played out. Weiss walked back to the Knight with a satisfied smile. "I've got a date with Neptune this Friday." Jaune just shrugged and rubbed his neck again.

Before he turned to leave, Weiss caught his wrist. "Weiss?" Jaune asked, confused as to what else the girl could want. "Thank you. I know we didn't start off on the right foot-"

Jaune chuckled. "Weeeell I kinda was annoying you. A lot."

Weiss scowled at him, but quickly lifted the gaze. "-But I wanted to say. Thanks. For this and the dance. You're a good friend." Jaune only smiled until Weiss looked away. "I'm sorry it's just that face!" she quickly squealed. "It's angry! And ugly! And it's looking at me!" Jaune only laughed in response as Weiss scurried off and waved her goodbyes.

— Present—

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, her green gaze looking at him with his hands on his knees. The Spartan looked at him with concern, one hand on the stair railing that led back down to the rest of Beacon. Her eyes were always looking out for him AND checking him out. She was a good multitasker.

"I'm good" Jaune wheezed out. "Just... It's been really hard trying to get this Semblance under control." Pyrrha sensed he was about to go on some long self-depreciating speech about how much better everyone else is and how they probably managed to control their Semblances with ease. Pyrrha huffed a strand of her red hair aside as she walked back up to Jaune. The blonde knight was standing up straight now, looking directly at her with his deep blue gaze that often sent shivers down her spine.

"Jaune" The girl repeated firmly. "Yea Pyrrha?" he replied in that innocent and lovely tone that she always felt calm hearing. "You're doing great. You've only had your Semblance for a week."

"But-"

"No buts."

Sitting down against the wall of the roof entrance, she beckoned her more-than-just-a-crush to sit by her. Her heart beat, worried he might take it the wrong way. It certainly was the boldest thing she'd done with him. Jaune merely nodded, however and then sat by her after putting Crocea Mors down. They sat silently for a while and just looked at the stars. She relished being so close to him, their hands almost touching. Pyrrha thought she felt her heat-beat increase almost tenfold.

At the same time, just inches away from the woman he was pretty sure he had fallen hard for, Jaune Arc was freaking out. Already a thin bead of sweat was forming at his brow. Even Epitaph was sweating. His heart beat had increased and his thoughts ran left and right!

"Jaune" she said for the third time, looking at him finally. Her hand was right next to his and it took the pair the greatest of resolve to not hold the others. "When I discovered my Semblance..." she began to say softly. "I had a pretty hard time controlling it too. It took me much longer than the rest of the children my age. I could barely move a fork. And when I focused my hardest, I'd end up ruining everything by tearing out all the metal in a room."

Jaune couldn't believe what he was hearing. Pyrrha? Not being ahead of everyone else? But she was so talented! And strong! And beautiful! And perfect and-

Jaune snapped himself out of listing everything wonderful he thought about Pyrrha to listen to her story. "In fact I was actually considering giving up." She looked sheepish, but continued speaking. Neither of them had noticed until now that their hands had slowly inched toward one another, nearly touching. Pyrrha caught her breath. But their hands moved no further. Both were too terrified to make that move.

"No way" Jaune breathed out after a while. "You? Give up? You're the most determined person I know!"

Pyrrha blushed at his compliment before speaking again, quietly though. "No Jaune, that person is you..."

"Hmm?" She thanked her lucky stars he hadn't heard her slip of the tongue. "What I'm trying to say Jaune, is that I'm proud of you. You've done so much in just one week. I couldn't control my Semblance at first too. The same goes for all of us."

Jaune sighed with contentedness. He was sitting so close to the woman he knew he loved, and she believed in him. She believed in him from the moment they met, believed in him when she awoke his aura, trained him and now, believed in him being able to control his Semblance. "Thanks Pyr... I don't know what I'd do without you..."

"Neither would I, Jaune" she said back to him, softly and only audible to herself. The partners didn't seem to want to rise up and return to their dorm. Up above the shattered moon bathed them in its light. Pyrrha finally rose as she came to the conclusion she had wasted another chance with Jaune. Once again unable to admit her feelings for her blonde knight.

Jaune followed suit as the two headed for the door. Pyrrha went through first and Jaune followed behind her.

Pyrrha felt confused. When had she turned the lock to the door of the roof? She swore Jaune wasn't all the way through. "Pyr?" The boy asked from behind her. "Something wrong?"

Pyrrha looked back down the stairs to see Jaune Arc standing at the end of the first set of stairs and giving her a worried look. "It's... nothing. I must have let my mind go blank for a bit."

Jaune simply nodded his acceptance. It was fairly late after all. The pair walked back to their dorm and entered, only giving a glance to the loud noise and subsequent "RUBY!" coming from Weiss across the hall in their sister teams dorm. Yawning, Jaune took off his armor and his weaponry and shoved it below his bed as usual. Pyrrha couldn't help but give a few glances at his body whenever he took his shirt and pants off to switch into his night-clothes. Of course what she didn't know was that Jaune reciprocated in kind. The two were, as expected, oblivious to one another's affections.

Falling onto his bed with a contented groan of comfort, Jaune Arc spoke up when he heard Pyrrha lie in her bed too. "Hey Pyrrha?"

"Yes Jaune?"

"Goodnight" he said in a low and soft voice that made Pyrrha's heart beat.

"Goodnight Jaune."

* * *

Jaune rarely woke up in the middle of the night. Back when he was younger he would sometimes awaken and rush to his parents room after a bad nightmare(something he did even when he was way too old for it.) Tonight was different though. His usual dreams were not present tonight. Instead, all he heard was a simple ringing sound, like that of a scroll.

The ringing was unceasing. But for some reason it was not an annoyance but a source of comfort, like it was coming from within himself.

_Duuu duluduludulu do_

Jaune's eyes opened slowly. He blinked several times before rising, his eyesight slowly adjusting to his darkened surroundings.

Then he heard a ringing sound. "Duuuu duru duru duru " he chirped out as he looked around for the Scroll. "Who is calling me at this hour?" Jaune mumbled under his breath as he crawled out of his bed. Trying his best to not wake his teammates, the knight began to search for the scroll that was ringing him at such an ungodly hour!

"Duuuuuu dululu dulu dulu du" Jaune sang out again, cocking his head upwards as the sound rang.

The ringing sound came out again, and Jaune started to get irritated.

Then his eyes fell upon the scroll! At last! Rushing over in the darkness, Jaune picked up one of Ren's boots and put it to his ear. "Hello?" he said softly, trying to be as quiet as possible.

He heard nothing for a good few moments. Jaune wondered if he was being prank called by Cardin or someone. Then he heard a voice. "This is a test..."

It sounded so strange, deep, yet eerily familiar. Like it was a voice he knew. It reminded him of his father, Doppio Arc, and how he'd speak when he was very serious about something. "Hello? Dad? Is that you? Why're you calling me so early!" Jaune groaned into the "scroll."

"One must overcome their past to become stronger. Wouldn't you agree, Jaune Diavolo Arc?"

Jaune was too tired to disagree. "Yea. I guess. Listen, what do you want?"

"To let you know I'll be keeping track of your Semblance and the training you are undertaking. Ours is an inherited one! Never forget that! The crimson king has always been with us! I will call you again soon!" The callers voice was rushed and serious, reverberating deeply through Jaune. While he found it odd, he considered the fact his father was finally showing some interest in teaching him how to be hunter! It was incredibly exciting. _I'll have to tell Pyrrha! _The boy thought, almost ready to pass out.

"Sounds good dad. Say hi to Trish for me." Yawning into the boot, Jaune "hung up" the call before slowly returning to his bed and gently lowering himself back onto it. _What a strange time to get a call from dad. Ah well, he's always been eccentric. Guess it runs in the family_. Jaune Diavolo Arc then dozed off swiftly once again.

Across the dorm, Nora Valkiyre had her eyes open and afraid. She couldn't even begin to explain what she had just witnessed.

"What the fu..." was all she managed to whisper out.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading this. I never imagined people would be so interested in this story! Thank you guys so much for such a warm welcome. And thank you to the reviewers! Your advice and your words mean a lot. **

**Thank you all for enjoying this story. I know I enjoy writing it. **


	3. Chapter 3: His Name is Diavolo

"It's official" Jaune spoke up after he finished chewing a bite of Nora's All-I-Can Eat pancakes. Team JNPR and Team RWBY were engaging in the morning ritual of casual conversation and breakfast together before they separated for their classes. "What's official?" Yang said from from her side of the table. "I hate long hair!" Jaune exasperated to the blonde brawler.

Yang snickered, as did the other girls bar Nora. "Welcome to our life Vomit-boy! Soon you'll be asking about what shampoo we use and how to style it and-"

Jaune groaned loudly as Yang broke into another fit of laughter. Having to grow out his hair from short and scraggly to long and scraggly was not something he had enjoyed. "You know, I could make it that you never got into another Team Buccellati concert again." His voice was smug but his face had a fake angry look to it. Blake and Weiss gasped. "You wouldn't" the cat Faunus said.

"Oh yea?" Jaune retorted with a smirk. Yang looked shocked, as if he would actually do it. Her horrified face looked at him pleadingly. Jaune couldn't keep his face together and broke into laughter. Pyrrha and Ruby chuckled with him, as did Weiss and Blake. "Oh man, Yang, you should have seen your face!"

Yang still looked shocked, for once having the tables flipped on her, but more importantly Jaune was just joking. She'd die if she stopped getting the benefits of being friends with Trish Arc's brother.

While the two teams continued to talk and joke, Ren looked over to his side to gaze at Nora. Something was clearly bothering her as she barely spoke at all this morning. Having lived almost his whole life with the girl, he knew that when Nora was being too quiet, something was wrong. "Nora?" The stoic said to her quietly. She didn't respond, looking deep in thought. "Nora?" he voiced again, this time a bit louder.

Nora blinked twice before snapping her head to him. "Huh?"

Ren had a concerned look in his eyes. Ever since they were young, he could tell when something was off. "Is something the matter Nora? You've barely spoken this morning."

Nora shook her head, orange hair lightly moving with it. "Just got some stuff on my mind."

She began to rise from her seat, empty tray in hand. Ren felt confused though. Weren't they all just sitting down? When had he risen to put his tray up? When had any of them done that?

Ren blinked as he looked around at Team RWBY and JNPR, each of them but Jaune looking around confusingly. "Wait. I still had some food left..." Ruby muttered, silently mourning her lost cookies. Nora herself gulped, and wondered.

"Guys? Come on, we've got Oobleck's class to get too!" Jaune called out from the exit of the cafeteria. _When did he walk there? I swore he was just sitting down with us..._

Ren shook his head, feeling confused. He hurried up to Jaune with the rest of JNPR, waved his goodbyes to Team RWBY and walked to class.

* * *

As usual, Jaune could barely keep up with the Professor of History at Beacon. His hands were straining as he tried to scribble down as many notes as possible. The knight blew a strand of his new long hair as he was given a moment of reprieve as Oobleck took a deep sip out of his cup. To his left, he could see Pyrrha giggling lightly when he huffed his breath at his own hair. _Yea, yea, this is what you have to deal with always_. He shot her a small smile in response.

"Now! Class! Last session we covered the history of Semblances and their application in non-combat uses! Today we're going to be covering a brief but important fact of Semblances! Inherited ones!"

Jaune's blue eyes fluttered away from Pyrrha and towards the Professor, trying to refocus. "Tell me, which of you knows someone with an inherited Semblance?"

Weiss tried to keep her head down, trying her best not to look a little smug, though she utterly failed at it. Ruby, for once, shot her hand into the air. "Miss Rose! Excellent!"

Ruby had a big, silly smile on her face as she pointed to our partner. "Weiss has an inherited Semblance!" Oobleck have her a nod of approval, indicating it was a correct answer. "And what might her inherited Semblance be?"

"Glyphs!" she almost shouted in excitement. "Indeed she does" the Professor replied.

"Anyone else?" Oobleck reiterated. No other student put their hands up until Blake slowly brought hers up. "Miss Belladonna? Do you know of anyone else with inherited Semblances? They are fairly rare. It's quite common for an academy to only have one or none even."

Blake nodded but her amber eyes did not falter. "I've been studying in the library and it turns out..." Her perceptive amber gaze fell on Jaune. "The Arc family has an inherited Semblance, though it's not clear what it is. They first started to manifest an inherited one after intermarrying with the Una family. I guess they keep it a secret."

Jaune gulped as all eyes slowly shifted on him. He slowly brought his hands up in faux surrender, symbolizing that this was news to him too. Professor Oobleck did seem surprised, but simply nodded and moved on. "Quite interesting, Miss Belladonna! Thank you for informing the class!"

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around at anything but the class. His gaze finally settled on Pyrrha, who looked worried for him. As usual, she was fretting over his well-being. Jaune let out a low sigh. _I don't deserve her kindness_.

Jaune's thoughts about his feelings for Pyrrha were rudely interrupted by Oobleck's lecture resuming. Jolting back into focus, he quickly began to jot down notes. The blonde knight wondered if his Semblance would be useful in a situation like this, but even then, it would be hard to hide its use. The angry face on his forehead had yet to go away, so he'd have to just endure.

* * *

The days passed on as usual. Nightly training with Pyrrha, sleep, wake up, class, repeat. Each day that passed meant another day spent gaining mastery over his Semblance. Jaune had been learning things about his power too. So far, he figured that as of now, there was no way to alter what would occur in the future. Secondly, he discovered that what he saw wasn't always accurate, or could turn out differently than he saw it.

Finally, Jaune came to the conclusion he could only see up to a maximum of ten seconds into the future and no more than that.

As Pyrrha and Jaune took their five-minute break, the boy heard a ringing sound. "Duuuuuu dululu dululululu" Pyrrha had gone to bring the pair water, so only Jaune remained up top. "Dammit! Why do I get called during training!" His voice was irritated and high-pitched. He desperately searched for the scroll. "Duuuu dulu dulu dulululu."

Finally, he found the scroll. Picking up a pigeon on the rooftop with surprising deftness, Jaune held it up to his ear. "Hello?"

The same deep voice that reminded him of his father was on the other side. "My sweet Jaune. Tonight you must learn to control your Semblance fully! Before you can ever hope to advance! You must defeat your weakened self tonight! To be at the top position, one must rise to it! The crimson king is ours! Never forget! Your partner is coming back. I'll be watching, sweet Jaune."

Jaune nodded and took in everything his father said before hanging up. He let the scroll fly off before turning to see Pyrrha holding two bottles of water. "What were doing with that pigeon, Jaune?" She asked, amusement in her voice. "Wha?" The knight replied, genuinely confused.

Pyrrha giggled at him before handing one of the bottles to him. "Drink up, we're gonna start working on your Semblance soon!"

"But what pigeon? I was on my scroll-" Jaune tried to explain, but his voice was too low. Pyrrha turned around with a smile and went to get ready.

Pyrrha walked over and picked up her spear and shield, taking a battle stance. Jaune shook himself out of his stupor and pulled Crocea Mors out of its sheath. "Now remember. I want you to use your Semblance. It's a part of your soul. So look into your soul, your aura, and channel it. Just like we trained before."

**It must be perfectly natural, my sweet Jaune! **

Jaune nodded at Pyrrha before taking a breath. He felt surprised when he managed to active it three seconds faster than before this time. The rippling sound echoed in the night and his bangs rose up to his face.

_Pyrrha began to move to the right with Milo, preparing to jab with it swiftly. She then used would swipe up with it to crash into Jaune. He saw finally that her shield was lunged forward as well, to try and slam into him. _

His hair dropped and he readied himself. Just as predicted, Pyrrha moved right and jabbed swiftly swiftly with it. Jaune used his foreknowledge to block it with his shield. Pyrrha's own shield blocked Crocea Mor's downwards strike as Milo twisted upwards. The two blades clashed with a cracking sound. Knowing that she was about to use her shield to try and bash him, Jaune tried to sweep kick her but failed. Pyrrha, as forecasted, did her shield bash but to no success. Jaune had already seen it happen so he dodged it with ease.

Seeing his opening, he used his sword to crash into her side. Her aura took the brunt of it.

The fight ended soon after, with Jaune laying flat on his back. Pyrrha gave him a hand and he gratefully took it. Pulling him up, Jaune's weight carried him forward and slightly into her arms. She felt a blush creep up her face as the Spartan tried to get her footing. Jaune himself was almost as red as her own hair when he separated. "I'm sorry!" Was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so clumsy and-" His voice trailed off as the pair just looked at each other awkwardly, neither able to admit their feelings.

"You did g-good tonight, Jaune."

"Uh.. yea. Thanks. I shaved off three seconds this time."

"That's... uh. Good."

The two were awkwardly speaking, the red flushes still on their cheeks. "I guess uh, that's it for tonight?" Jaune coughed out as Pyrrha nodded. The two began to walk their way back. Pyrrha slightly leaned on Jaune as they stepped down the stairs side by side. The boy was tired, nervous and oblivious. By the time they reached the bottom, they had separated. Much to Pyrrha's chagrin.

Jaune opened the door to their dorm and headed for his shower. Pyrrha was about to follow him into the room when she felt a hand grab her wrist from outside. The strength of the hand could only belong to the pancake-loving, hammer-wielding, ball of energy that was Nora.

"Nora?" she asked, confused. The hammer wielded looked concerned. Pyrrha had noticed that all day she had been quiet. She had intended to say something about it, but this took precedence. "Pyrrha. We need to talk."

The Spartans brow rose. "About what?"

"Jaune. Somethings really, really wrong." Pyrrha's eyes widened. Something was wrong with Jaune and she hadn't even noticed? "Team RWBY has noticed stuff too. We're gonna have a joint team meeting this weekend."

Nora sighed before continuing, knowing the very last part of what she had to say would bother Pyrrha.

"Without Jaune."

Pyrrha fueled her lips in disappointment. She figured Nora would say something like that. "If something is wrong with Jaune, then shouldn't he know about it too?"

Nora looked guilty and felt it too. She didn't necessarily want to keep Jaune in the dark, but Ren and her had decided it would be for the best, especially with the Vytal Tournament coming up so soon. Jaune would most likely try and assuage their concerns as usual. "You know how he is. He'll just say nothing is wrong like usual, when we all know something is wrong. He'll suffer in silence..."

Pyrrha had to agree with her in the end. The experience he had with Cardin showed he could put himself below everyone else in terms of who he was concerned for. It both broke her heart and made it swell for his affection even more. "Alright..." she finally said after a long pause. "What time?"

* * *

The week passed as usual, Jaune and Pyrrha training and failing to express their deep feelings for one another, doing homework, freaking out about the Vytal Tournament, and so on. Jaune Arc himself was dead tired, falling asleep almost instantaneously after practicing with Pyrrha. He had nearly gained complete control over his Semblance, managing to reduce the time to activate it to about five seconds. He had even managed to make the angry pink face go away for a few hours!

Snoring, he swiftly fell away into sleep. A few minutes later, the conspirators of Team JNPR and Team RWBY departed from their dorms. They traveled all the way to an empty classroom, making sure to keep an eye out for anyone who might catch them.

Inside there was a long table with seats for each person there. On one side sat Team RWBY and on the other, Team JNPR sans Jaune. Ruby coughed and raised her voice with a faux attempt of being 'professional and leader-y.' "I call this council of Seeing-What's-Wrong-With-Jaune in session!"

Nora smirked slightly as Yang tried to keep back her laughter. "Annyyyyyways" Weiss cut in before her partner could say anything else. "Nora, you called us all here. You said there's something wrong with Jaune?"

Nora nodded quickly, a serious demeanor falling upon her. "Well, a while back... I saw Jaune doing something really weird."

Yang decided to chime in at that moment. "Weirder than usual?" Pyrrha gave her a scowl as Blake rolled her eyes at her partner.

"Much weirder" Nora replied without a hint of amusement in her voice. "I saw him wake up early in the morning, at like, three or something! He never wakes up that early!"

Blake raised an eyebrow and spoke up. "He might have just taken a nap earlier in the day. Sometimes it happens to me."

Ren raised a hand to stop her from speaking. "That's not it. Please. Everyone. Just listen. You can add at the end." The group collectively agreed to let Nora finish her story.

"As I was saying. Jaune suddenly started making... noises. He was looking around for something and making a ringing sound. Like a scroll. He kept doing it until he picked up one of Ren's boots! Then he spoke into it like he was having a conversation! I really think he thought it was a scroll!"

Nora felt sweat trickle down her brow, but calmed herself when Ren gave her an assuring hand-squeeze below the table. Pyrrha felt like she had to say something. Everyone, including her, was shocked. Sure, Jaune had some self-esteem and confidence issues, but he wasn't crazy!

"I... may have seen him, or seen the end of him doing something like that. We were training and..."

Pyrrha's voice trailed off as she recalled how strange it was. At the time she had simply shrugged it off as one of his goofy antics, but thinking back now... Jaune had been holding a pigeon to his ear like it was a scroll. He hasn't even laughed. "I think he may have used a... pigeon as his scroll this time..."

Team RWBY had wide eyes and open mouths. They never expected fun, loving, goofy Jaune to have really lost it this much. Weiss coughed a bit before giving her piece. "Well... I think if Jaune's mental faculties... aren't quite together, we owe it to him by getting him some help. We need to tell Professor Ozpin and-"

Nora waved her hands frantically, eventually being joined by Ruby and Pyrrha. "No! No. We can't tell anyone!" she almost screeched. "He might get sent home!"

Weiss hasn't considered that and... despite it all, she too knew Jaune had great potential as a hunter. And she would miss his friendship. They all would. "Alright. We won't do that. Any other ideas?"

Pyrrha had stayed silent for a while, as had Blake and Yang. The blond brawler was deep in thought, not even putting on a nonchalant attitude as usual. Things were too serious for that.

Ren again spoke. "Onto the other matter. I think it may be connected." Ren put his hands together and interlocked his fingers neatly. "Have any of you noticed you've... forgotten, lately?"

"Forgotten?" The young reaper of Team RWBY asked with understandable confusion. "Like what, forgetting my lien or something?"

The stoic ninja of JNPR shook his head. Everyone at the table was paying attention with deadly intent. Something bizarre was absolutely going on. "You're doing something and then suddenly, you found yourself doing something else. Like at breakfast a few days ago. Did anyone else suddenly find themselves putting up their empty trays?"

Pyrrha bit her lip as she remembered one night of training. Where she had suddenly found herself locking a door and seeing Jaune past her, when he was clearly behind her. "I think I've experienced something similar with Jaune..."

Everyone was silent after that. Team RWBY concurred with Ren's assessment of breakfast several days ago. Blake finally broke the silence at last, speaking with a voice that felt dry as bark. "What do we do then?..."

No one had an answer for her. They had no idea what was happening with their friend, and they were incredibly scared.

None more than Pyrrha. The boy she had fallen in love with seemed to be unraveling, and there was nothing she, the "Invincible Girl" could do about it.

"Maybe... maybe it has to do with his Semblance?" Ruby said softly after a while. She looked scared but in those silver eyes of hers was a fierce determination. She would NOT lose her best friend. Not on her watch. "All of this started happening after he discovered his Semblance right? So what if it has to do with it?"

The two teams all looked stunned. No one else had considered that fact. "Perhaps... perhaps we don't know as much as we think we do about his Semblance. I think... I think for now... we should just keep an eye out for him. Maybe meet up again later.." Pyrrha finally said at last. While everyone was indeed worried, they were also tired.

As everyone began to clear out of the empty classroom, Ruby came up to Pyyrha's side and put a hand on one of her arms. "We will find a solution. I promise Pyrrha." The Amazon smiled weakly at her and nodded.

"Thank you Ruby..." she sighed out, the red-cloaked leader nodding before heading back to her dorm for sleep. Pyrrha sighed once more before heading back to the JNPR dorm. Inside, Jaune was fast asleep, much to her relief. For a little while, Pyrrha simply looked at his sleeping face. It looked calm, handsome and innocent. Even with that ugly pink face stuck in his forehead. "We'll fix this Jaune... I promise. Goodnight..." Pyrrha whispered to him, squeezing his hand and wishing she had this much courage when the boy was awake.

Soon, she too drifted to sleep. Dreaming of her blond knight. But his aura was not the beautiful white as it was before. No, it was red now. Crimson red. Something hovered behind him...

* * *

Ozpin looked down at his watch, keeping track of the time. The headmaster of Beacon would give it a few more minutes before going on with the meeting. Thankfully, the bird he was looking for had arrived. "Qrow" he heard from in front of him. Glynda Goodwitch had snapped at the drunkard before Ozpin had a chance to speak. "Nice to see you too" Qrow groaned, holding his head in his hand. On the computer screen in front of him, General Ironwood looked quite annoyed. If it was about being called so late in the night or at Qrow's... everything, was unknown to the Professor.

"Thank you for coming, Qrow" Ozpin cut through the usual formalities. It was late but it was important and he didn't want to keep his friends up late. "I've called you all here today to discuss a new development."

Ironwood raised a brow and Qrow mirrored. "What kind of... development?"

Ozpin sighed and closed his eyes before speaking again. "I'm not quite sure of the details, but I believe it has to do with the Semblance of a Mr. Jaune D. Arc."

"Doppio's son?" Glynda queried. "What's he have to do with this?"

Ozpin lifted a hand to silence her, as well as letting Qrow know he could not pull out his flask and take a sip. Or rather swig. In fact, how much did Qrow drink at a single time anyways? "I believe that Mr. Arc is showing signs of his familial Semblance. From what I knew of his father, it's an extremely powerful one... one he himself couldn't quite control. I believe that Mr. Arc is unconsciously using his full ability."

Ironwood was fully vested now, and Qrow was too, in his own way of trying to look like he didn't care. "And what, Ozpin, might that Semblance be? I know about your former student. Doppio Arc was considered too much of a... liability, to be used. Though, perhaps in hindsight..." His voice trailed off. Everyone knew who he was thinking of. _Raven. _

"Regardless, if Mr. Arc can be trained in using his Semblance to his fullest potential, then perhaps he and Ms. Nikos can be of utmost use." Glynda scowled at that.

"You've already made me drag one of my students into this war... now two? Ozpi-" She was cut off by the sound of a flask being uncorked and the light dribble of a man consuming liquid.

"Sorry about that" Qrow muttered. "Anyways, where were we?"

Professor Goodwitch put her face in her hand, taking deep breaths to prevent her from exploding at Qrow. "We don't even know what his Semblance is? Precognition is a double handed blade! Besides, his skill in combat is hardly comparable to Miss Nikos. If she agrees to being the next Fall Maiden, then she'd be even more above the Arc boy."

Ozpin smiled at that slightly, much to everyone else's confusion. "Sometimes, we forgot that even the Maidens are not all powerful. Doppio Arc, and through him, Jaune Arc, all share a tightly kept family Semblance. It's rarely told to the next successor if they don't manifest it."

Ozpin pushed his glasses up before telling his secret band the true power of Jaune Diavolo Arc's Semblance. "His Semblance, his power, is that of two halves. Not precognition alone. It's a curse as much as it is a blessing. Anything the boy sees with precognition is fated to occur. A terrible burden on its own, to see what will happen without any ability to change its outcome."

"Oz, what are you getting at here? Not all semblances are easy to have. Take mine."

Ozpin sighed as his cohorts failed to piece it together. "What I am saying, is that his Semblance has a second piece to it..."

"The boy... has the power over Fate itself.

— _To Be Continued_

* * *

**A/N: Thank you again for your support, reviews, comments and criticisms! Seeing people read this is a joy. It truly is. No matter how many favorites or follows it gets, each one means the world to me. **

**Now for the chapter. Jaune is learning to control Epitaph! As for time erasure, I've taken some liberties with how it's currently working. As of now, Jaune is unconsciously skipping time. To him, time is flowing naturally, but to everyone else, they're experiencing the time erasure. Jaune will eventually be able to do all the wonderful things that comes with consciously using or trying to use his Semblance of Time Erasure. **

**As for Diavolo? You'll have to wait and see. **

**See you next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4: His Name is Diavolo, Part 2

Pyrrha was unable to get much sleep ever since the meeting between Team RWBY and JNPR minus the J. Her team leader was slowly losing his grasp on sanity, according to Nora, and something was going on with his semblance. It was two in the morning as she lay face up in her bed. To her side were the other beds of their dorm room. Each of their inhabitants were luckily sleeping as she simply stared up. Her heart was beating roughly, her mind racing with thoughts that she couldn't quite get out of her head. _What do I do?_ The question repeated in her mind all day and night. She had lived her whole life with the expectation that she could do anything. But now, with her partner in trouble and losing his grip on reality, she was helpless. Even if she did do something, Pyrrha wondered if it would even help? The champion hated this feeling of utter despair. Unable to act. Only sitting by and watching the madness occur.

Jaune was more than just her partner. He was special. He had humiliated himself in front of the entire school just for her sake at the dance. Because of silly little promise. But an Arc never went back on his word! Undoubtedly, he'd do it ten times over for her in a second. Thinking of it again made her blush even in the dark of the night. It made her heart beat harder and turned the little butterflies in her stomach upwards. _But I can't even help him. He'd do everything for me…. And I can't even help him now when he needs me most. How can I lo-_

Pyrrha rolled over onto her side to look over at the blonde knight that had captured her heart. He was lightly snoring, strands of his now long blonde hair on his face somewhat. His chest rose up and down slightly in a way that could only be described as cute by Pyrrha. Her eyes were reddened by the days without sleep. Here, as she watched the boy sleep, hopefully undisturbed by nightmares, she even began to feel herself doze off lightly. _Even now… You're doing this for me…_

Pyrrha sighed as she tried her hardest to fall asleep. The red-haired girl tried her best to focus on Jaune's light breathing as a source of calm. _Up… and down…. Up and down… Up and do…_

She finally dozed off at two-twenty in the morning. But this was not to be her relief. In her waking hours she was plagued by what was happening to Jaune and her inability to protect him. In her sleeping hours… Pyrrha had been assaulted by the same dream; no, it was a nightmare above all nightmares. It was always about Jaune. Jaune and the mysterious _thing_ Nora talked about. Her mind would fill in the gaps as to what was plaguing him. Some nights it was Grimm, the others it was Roman Torchwick using some nefarious device, having broken free from his prison. All the same, Jaune suffered in these dreams and nothing she did would help him. The Invincible Girl became fallible. Just as she feared would occur and was occurring with Jaune.

Alongside Jaune and her failures, one thing remained constant. There was a _presence_. It was dark, evil, and felt like Grimm but not. Unlike the many kinds of monstrous Grimm, this being was humanoid and quite tall, slender even. She never clearly was able to see it, but what she did see was terrifying. It always hovered near Jaune, sometimes leaning down to whisper something in his ears. Jaune's long hair was erratic, his eyes widened as he listened intently. Pyrrha would try to call out to him, to save him from the being. "Jaune!" she cried out as the boy looked around for a voice, any voice. Just not hers. "Jaune! Please! Listen to me!" The champion ran as fast as her legs could take her, straining and sweating to try and get to Jaune. This night was the first time she had reached him. Her hand took his as he looked around idly, looking for something. "Dad?" he said, his head looking left and right.

Then she saw _him_. Familiar yet foreign. This was the first time she had really gotten a good look at his face. It was standing by Jaune, slightly above him and leaning forward to look at her. He had eyes that looked like sharp orifices with a steep inward slant; from which emerged small, round eyes without sclera, with pronounced eye sockets that had fragmented pupils. Its crown was flat and from his forehead emerged a raised level that bared a smaller, oval face of the same expression. _That's… That on its head? That's Jaune's semblance! _Why would this nightmare creature have such a thing? And more importantly, why would a figment of her own imagination give it that? The angry face leaned in and whispered into Jaune's ear. Then, the nightmare would end as it always did. The world shattered apart. The ground broke as all faded away, red lines flying around her until nothing was left but an empty void of black and red with stars far away. Only Jaune remained. Only Jaune and the terrifying face.

Pyrrha woke screaming again. Her green eyes darted around the dorm as her raspy breath tried to calm down. Her blonde partner came rushing in from his shower, a towel wrapped around his waist with a toothbrush in his hand. "Pyrrha!" His voice cracked as he nearly tripped over himself to try and help his partner. As her heart rate began to slow down, she finally noticed that Jaune was but a cloth-piece away from being exposed to her. As her breathing became regular, it was replaced with a crimson flush crossing her cheeks as she looked at the blonde knight standing over her. His body was slick with water from the shower, a hand holding up his folded towel. Her gaze wandered all over him, from those blue eyes to his ever-improving physique to-

"Pyr!" Jaune snapped her out of her almost daydream like gaze. His cheeks were blazing too and Pyrrha suddenly returned to reality. "Oh!" Pyrrha squeaked out. Jaune rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand as Pyrrha looked away. "You were screaming…"

_Oh… Right… That._

"I hope didn't wake you Jaune…" Pyrrha felt miserable. She had possibly woken up her partner and her teammates, nearly embarrassed herself, nearly drooling over herself at the sight of Jaune mostly naked. _What will he think of me? Will it ruin our friendship? Will it-_ "No, Ren and Nora aren't here. We let you sleep in today. No classes till later this afternoon." He gave her a goofy smile that comforted her fears. His hand was on the bed, near her own. Their fingers brushed briefly, and electricity flared in both. Pyrrha swore she could hear his heart beat too. _Say something! Say something about your feelings! You're a champion!_

She said nothing as Jaune stood up, his state of undress finally hitting him. "Oh! S-sorry! I should get changed!"

"No" she mumbled under her breath as her cheeks turned crimson, looking away briefly. Jaune himself rushed towards the drawer to pull out his school uniform, running back into the bathroom to change. Pyrrha rose and got herself dressed as well, the two in their usual Beacon uniforms. Outside their dorm, the two looked at each other silently and awkwardly. "We don't have class till later today" Jaune spoke softly, finally breaking the silence. Pyrrha raised a brow, a hand grabbing one of her own arms.

"Maybe we can go to Vale?" His voice cracked again, causing her to smirk slowly. Pyrrha felt her heart explode in her chest when he asked.

_Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes _Jaune thought in a panic, a trickle of sweat traveling down his head.

"That sounds grand" Pyrrha said with a smile.

* * *

While Pyrrha and Jaune headed off to Vale to spend time together before class, Blake and Ren were in the library. The two quietest members of their respective teams, both carrying the teammate imposed title of ninja. Together they sat at a table that was stacked high with towers of books upon books. Ren and Blake had spent the past few days investigating the origins of these mysterious happenings in Beacon and what was happening with Jaune. They had classified the bizarre occurrences as "skips." Each time a "skip" happened, Ren and Blake would meet up to discuss what occurred.

They had decided to pour over history books to search for anything similar in the past, around Beacon and beyond. So far, they had come up empty. Ren had his nose buried in a large volume by the name of _Chronicles of the History of Western Vale from 1099 to 1288. _It was inconclusive as far as he could tell, but he hadn't reached the third half yet. To his left sat three other books of the same series. Ren had read all of them and found nothing of value. Taking a sip from his cup of coffee, he turned the next page. Off to the side of their table, Blake was perusing through shelves for new books that might illuminate them to what was going on around them and with their friend Jaune.

Blake pulled out an old dusty tome that was fraying at the edges. Blowing off the dust with one great breath, she read its title. _Genealogies of the Knights of Northern Vale from 100 to Present. _Blake placed it between her body and her arm as she continued to look. It took her five minutes to realize the dusty old book would be all she would find in this part of the library. With an audible sigh, the faunus returned to their table, giving Ren a nod a she did.

_There has to be something. Anything. _They had been doing this for days, trying to fit it in between study time and classes. It was a herculean task to say the least. Pouring over countless old books to find any clue as to what was affecting their friends and their school.

"Anything Ren?" Blake said as she sat down, grabbing her own cup of coffee and sipped at it. Ren silently shook his head, emitting a small sigh of frustration. Blake understood entirely as she opened the dusty tome. Inside were frayed and torn pages that had stains from years upon years of use. Blake turned the pages to find a catalogue of names. There were various families that started and died out across the ages. Some were unidentifiable while some were somewhat recognizable. Regardless, she began flipping pages to read about the various families of Vale. From great to small, she read. Blake was looking for any similarity in what has happening now in the past.

It took an hour before she found something quite intriguing. _The Arc-Una's? _She thought when her amber eyes fell on the half familiar name. Blake had seen the Una family a few chapters earlier, but they had died out hundreds of years ago, so she hadn't bothered to read too much into them. "Ren…" Blake said with excitement in her voice for once. The ninja of JNPR was near the end of his current volume when he looked up. His eyes were tired from constant reading, his cup of coffee nearly empty.

"Yes Blake?" replied Ren in his stoic and matter of fact tone. It was comforting as usual in its strange way. The man was a pillar of responsibility and it pleased Blake that the world had more silent, reading ninjas like her.

"I think I've found something. Take a look at this." Blake waved him over and he moved his seat closer to hers so he could read as well. Tapping the Arc-Una name at the top of the page, Blake pointed out what she discovered. "Seem familiar?" The question was rhetorical, but poor Ren answered anyways. "Yes. Jaune's family?" he said, confused slightly.

Blake nodded before continuing. "Yea, but it says Arc-Una? Did Jaune ever tell you that he had Una in his last name?" Her curious eyes scanned Ren for any signs but found nothing. He looked deep in thought. _Why wouldn't their leader tell them his full name? More importantly, why doesn't the school refer to him with that name? _This had just added more questions to their already deep dive into the rabbit hole.

"I don't think he ever told us. Maybe he didn't know either?" Ren postulated after a good while, finally coming to answer he thought was somewhat satisfactory. Blake nodded in agreement with him. It made sense, if anyone didn't know their own surname had an extra part, it would be Jaune. "There was a Una family earlier in the book. But they died out" Blake explained to Ren, who was reading the names of the Arc-Una family. Blake was thinking deeply about all of this. _What does it mean?_

"Blake" Ren's voice broke her out of her thoughts. The girl looked up at him, curious as to what he would say. She followed Ren's gaze downwards and she gasped.

"They're all… the same.."

_Jaune I of Arc, their founder_

_His son, Simon Arc_

_His son, Nicholas Arc_

_His son, Jeramiah Arc_

_His son, Jonathan Arc, who bore only one daughter_

_Diavolo Una, married Jane Arc_

_Their son, Nicholas Diavolo Arc-Una_

_His son, Jellico Diavolo Arc-Una_

_His son, Silver Diavolo-Arc Una _

_His son, James Diavolo Arc-Una_

_His son, Amethyst Diavolo Arc-Una_

The list continued onwards until it reached a familiar name.

_Jaune Diavolo Arc-Una_.

This was certainly something new. Something numbering. Every single Arc after Jane had the middle name of Diavolo. Without fail. It was creepy to say the least. "Ren… what do you think this means?" Her eyes were filled with worry.

Ren closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't know. Look here. After Jane Arc married Diavolo Una…." Ren's voice trailed off as he thought. "There must be a reason every Arc is named with him. There has to be. Blake… I think found our lead." Blake nodded quickly, her eyes looking over the list again.

"Whoever this Diavolo is, we need to find out more about him. And what it means for Jaune."

* * *

Ozpin was beginning to get irritated with having these meetings with Qrow and Ironwood. The same damn conversation about the Arc boy, over and over again.

"All I'm saying is-" Ironwood was speaking over the computer, a frustrated look on his face. Ozpin was beginning to share the same features too. _If I already wasn't so old, I believe I would start feeling like it because of this. _Qrow has interrupted Ironwood once again, his hands flying off his temples in anger.

"And all I'm saying is that we shouldn't be dragging some kid who doesn't even know how to use his Semblance yet! Besides, we don't even know who this 'Diavolo is!"

Ironwood groaned in frustration. He knew Qrow was right about the last part. No one quite understood what this Diavolo being was, with only Oz making some hypotheses as to who or what it was. "Qrow, we can handle it when we get to it! Ozpin, we should reach out a hand to Mr. Arc. Bring him in with Miss Nikos and explain the truth of the matter. If we don't, Salem will!"

Ozpin sighed as his friends argued with one another and pleaded with him. For the past few weeks, ever since Ozpin had told them about Jaune Arc's true power as well as its little curse, they had been debating whether or not to bring Mr. Arc into the fray. The power to erase time and alter fate in one's favor would be nigh invincible if probably channeled. If Salem got wind of it, she might try and seize the asset herself. Ozpin couldn't allow that.

Then there was the issue of Diavolo. The wizard knew a man named Diavolo several hundred years ago. Back then he was just a small time criminal, so Ozma paid no mind to him. But now? Now he was scrambling to recall everything he knew about Diavolo and what it meant for Jaune Arc. The Headmaster had his work certainly cut out for him.

_If I could just get these two to listen…_

Trying to find and form a theory on the nature of Diavolo and the familial semblance of the Arc-Una's was becoming increasingly difficult when two of his comrades were at each other's throats in regards to the path forwards. "Oz, we've been operating in the dark here. You told me to find anything on this 'Diavolo' guy, but I'm telling you now, there isn't anything to find!" Qrow was exasperated and Ironwood wasn't doing much better. His hands were lightly holding his flask in case he needed it. Even Ironwood had a shot of brandy in his hands.

"It would be best… if we began to discuss this Diavolo. You've been putting it off for a while now." Ironwood seemed to at least agree on that. Ozpin _had_ been delaying. He needed more time.

Ozpin pursed his lips upward and chewed his tongue. Searching for an answer, he sighed and decided that being transparent with them for now was for the best. "I have some theories. However, this enigmatic figure has difficult to find. Most everything about 'Diavolo' or the Arc family Semblance is seemingly nonexistent." His right hand lifted his coffee mug to drink some of the intoxicating caffeine while Qrow downed some of his. Ironwood decided it would be best to join in as well.

"Look at that Oz. You've got Jimmy downing shots. He really wants some info, huh?" Qrow chuckled as he leaned against the glass window of Ozpin's office. With a flick of his hair, his eyes turned to gaze down at Beacon where his nieces were enjoying their youth, ignorant of their reality.

Ironwood scowled at Qrow as he put his glass down and poured the cup all the way up once more. "It would seem to me." His voice was slow and methodical, having put some time to think about what he was saying next. "That someone or something, has been covering a trail."

_That is what I feared, my friend. But who? _Ozpin thought with concern. For someone to be willfully hiding information about 'Diavolo', they would have to be at least hundreds of years old. The only two people that could do that were him and Salem. From what he could tell, Salem was unaware of the Arc family or their semblance, so it couldn't have been her. _Unless I've been working on faulty information. _"Regardless, I have made some gains on my research. From what I've learned, Diavolo Una married into the Arc family several hundred years ago. I believe his blood provided the Arc family with this semblance. I also now believe that this semblance is inheritable only by the men in the family. Much like the women of the Schnee family." Both Qrow and General Ironwood were quiet. Despite their differences, both men took the information very seriously. The fate of humanity often relied on meetings like these.

Ozpin pauses to sip from his mug of coffee. His action caused yet another cascade of flasks and shot glasses rising and falling in a rippling succession. Once more, Qrow and him were amused at the General being driven to liquor to cope with Qrow.

"Finally, I… I'm not quite sure how yet, but whatever this 'Diavolo' is… It is related to the semblance. It seems almost inseparable. It's like it's merged with their aura. Qrow, do you remember Doppio Arc?." Ozpin turned to the drunkard with his question, causing Ironwood to move his gaze with the headmaster. Rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to jog his memory, Qrow answered.

"Think so. Purple hair right?" Qrow half asked and half recalled. Ozpin nodded to confirm that he was correct in his guess. "Yea. What about him? I remember he was a bit… off. Refused to talk about his Semblance too." Qrow rubbed his chin lightly, his fingers running across stubble they scratched at him lightly. "His middle name was Diavolo too if I'm remembering right."

"Indeed" was all Ozpin had to say. This was the limit of his knowledge on Diavolo. For now, all they had to work with was that it was tied to Jaune Arc via his Semblance and aura. The connection however, was still missing. _Aura is the manifestation of the soul. It was magic that merges one soul with another like me… so what makes this tick? Do the Arc men have a second soul trapped in them? How? _So many questions ran through the old wizards mind as he contemplated the things he had learned. _Unless… it wasn't two souls. _Ozma looked to the source of the thought, seeing the manifestation of the other soul. His host soul. The real Ozpin. The man had been watching the conversation intently and most likely had been putting information together for his host. They worked well as a team like that. _Perhaps…_ the host Ozpin began to speak, or rather, think.

_Perhaps it was two souls. At one point. You said that whenever a person dies their soul goes to the afterlife. _

That was indeed what Ozma had told Ozpin, his comrades and all his prior hosts. He'd been there himself and well…. he made a point to never tell anyone what the afterlife was like. If he did, humanity may very well commit mass suicide. Ozma told his host of course, so they would have something wonderful to look forward too when they passed. Something he envied greatly. The afterlife was simply too wondrous to describe in mere words.

_Well, what if it was just a soul that… didn't do that. A will so firm that it forced itself onto another aura… the Arc family aura. And overtime that soul simply… became one with that aura. To the point that they are one and the same. Indistinguishable._

Ozpin considered the information and pondered deeply on it. It would put together the missing pieces. But how? How could something like this occur without the influence of magic or the gods? Ozpin didn't know yet, but he swore he would.

_You make a good point _the wizard replied in his mind. While it required he make some assumptions for now, this was a very strong starting point for further research. Looking back at his cohorts, he nodded, signaling an end to the meeting. General Ironwood cut his video feed as soon as the elevator opened for Qrow to exit. "Continue to keep an eye on the Arc boy!" The headmaster called out as Qrow entered the elevator, giving him a hand wave of acknowledgement.

Sighing, Ozpin turned around in his seat to gaze at his academy. _Where are you Diavolo? Who are you? And more importantly, what are you doing now?_

The silence was his only answer.

* * *

Sitting in Professor Goodwitch's class, Jaune was watching his partner wipe the floor with Russel Thrush. Jaune always admired how incredible she was in battle. Outside of these duels, Pyrrha was kind, steadfast and loyal. But in Goodwitch's class, she was a monster. There was a reason she was a four time champion. It made Jaune feel even more inadequate in his affections. Their outing to Vale two days ago gave him a spark of hope that maybe, just maybe, she felt the same way towards him. But why would someone like her want to love someone like him?

Jaune saw her leave from the arena, smiling directly at him. He smiled back and cheered for with the rest of his team, his voice the loudest amongst them. The Amazon came back to his side and sat with him, close as she could be. _If only this could be always _he thought with sadness.

"Mr. Arc! Mr. Winchester!" Professor Goodwitch exclaimed as she looked up from her notepad, looking for the two knights. He felt fear well up in his chest. Despite his training in both fighting and his Semblance, he didn't know if he could take Cardin on. He looked to his right to see Pyrrha smile brightly at him. His heart skipped a beat and his courage rose. _I have to win. For her. _

Jaune felt a squeeze in his hand. _Is.. is Pyrrha squeezing my hand? Holding my hand?_ Jaune looked down to see her hand in his. When he gazed up again at her, he saw those green eyes filled with ...something he couldn't quite place. It felt like the same gaze he had for her. His hand squeezed back. Jaune would have stood there with her hand in his if it wasn't for Professor Goodwitch snapping at him. With an unmanly squeak, Jaune separated from Pyrrha, hearing her giggle lightly. He looked back and smiled weakly and nervously at her as he took his sword and shield. _Let's do this. _

Jaune stood at the opposite edge from Cardin, his sword and shield firmly in hand. Taking deep breaths, he looked at the suave and confident Cardin Winchester holding his mace on his shoulder with a smirk. "What are you up to Jauney boy? That semblance of yours isn't gonna do you any good today!"

Jaune ignored him and focused his aura, as just Pyrrha told him to. How she trained him to. He felt the rippling sound of his Semblance activating. Blonde bangs rose like magic into the air as he gazed into them. Epitaph emerged from his forehead, as it did now whenever he activated his power. _I.. I did it. I did it on demand!_ A surge of confidence coursed through him as he gazed greedily into his bangs.

_He saw the results, the result of him kneeling, but he saw that Cardin's mace was out of his hand and in his own. _

It was a short precognition, but he accepted it all the same. He knew that it was unavoidable but he would face it on nonetheless. Pyrrha was looking at her with her emerald orbs. Supportive. Loyal. Lovi-

Jaune focused himself. He has to succeed! It was for Pyrrha. Always for her. Everything for her. His heart beat hard. "You may begin… NOW!" said harsh voice of Glynda Goodwitch to the two students. He could hear Team RWBY and JNPR cheering loudly for him, inspiring him. Then he heard a scroll go off.

_Wait! Someone is calling me? Now! At all times! _

Jaune needed to answer that call! It was from him! He would help him win! It must be why he saw that prediction. He would be called and _he _would help him take Cardin's mace!

"DU DULUDULUDULU DU" Jaune made a chink in his neck as it turned upwards. _Where was that scroll coming from?!_

Cardin looked at him with a confused look, and Professor Goodwitch simply looked at him annoyed. "Mr. Arc. If you would begin to behave as an adult, you may begin the mat-" She never got the chance to finish her sentence when Jaune began cawing out the scroll sound. "DU DULULULUDULUDULUDULULULU DU!"

Jaune's head erratically turned left and right, moving around the arena to search for the scroll that was calling him. He had to find the scroll. It was the only way to win for Pyrrha! "DU DULULULLULU DU!"

"Jaune…" Pyrrha said under her breath, utterly horrified at her partner, the man she… had great affection for, screech out like a blubbering idiot in front of his friends and his schoolmates. "Hey! You!" Jaune asked Cardin, pointing at him. The bully looked unnerved, as did many of the students. Some laughed at first, chalking it up to another one of the goof balls antics. That was until he kept doing it. Utterly convinced that his chirping was the sound of a scroll.

"Gimme your scroll!" He said again, pointing at Cardin, more specifically his mace. Jaune began to walk over to Cardin. _I need that scroll! It's the only way I can win for her!_

"Mr. Arc! Explain this at once!" Professor Goodwitch shouted. All eyes in the class were on Jaune Arc, who had seemingly lost his mind out of the blue. His teammates looked utterly horrified, none more so than Pyrrha Nikos. "DU DULULULDULU! Come on man! I just need it for a second." Jaune lunged forward and with nigh ripped the mace out of a shocked Cardin's hand.

Professor Goodwitch moved to put an end to the madness, when Jaune turned to her and she paused with shocked eyes. Some students even swore they saw a glint of fear. Jaune's aura glowed crimson red, a stark contrast to the white they were used to. She saw just lightly, incredibly faded and only for a moment, a floating figure of red and grey with an angry face.

Pyrrha saw it too and recognized it from her nightmares. The same angry face. What was it? She was sure now that whatever his semblance, this behavior, the strange skips in Beacon and more were a result of this red aura and figure.

"Hello? Hello?" Jaune suddenly called out into the mace, holding the hilt up to his ear while the round edge of the weapon sat against the ground. Some students had rushed off to get another professor, or even the Headmaster. Others simply watched with curiosity and horror both. Had the knight simply lost it? Was the pressure of Beacon too much?

**My sweet Jaune. You've controlled fully your power. Didn't you see my sweet Jaune? How you activated Epitaph instantly! My sweet little Jaune! You! We! Are climbing to the everlasting top position! Never forget that you are the crimson king!**

Jaune's face brightened as he heard the man compliment him, praising his success! _I did it. I did it Pyrrha! I learned to control my semblance!_ "It was all thanks to Pyr, really… and you!" Jaune quickly added that to the end. He didn't want to offend one of his teachers after all!

**No! It was only within you! Within us! The Nikos girl will prevent you from eternal greatness! Today you have won a victory! Only I can bring you the power to achieve the everlasting top position! To be number one! You must cease training with her, my sweet little Jaune. I, Diavolo, the king, will teach you how to use your true power. How to use King Crimson! To erase time!**

Jaune didn't really understand what he was saying, but it seemed like he was offering him more training at the cost of-

_Pyrrha. _Jaune snapped upwards to look at his partner. She was at the front of the glass, staring at him intently. Her eyes were confused and full of hurt, but more at herself than anything else. She had a worried emerald gaze for the man she loved. The champion reached out to touch the arena glass. "I can't do that. Pyrrha is my partner. My friend. The woman lo-"Jaune almost blurted out his feelings for her, in front of everyone! Especially in front of her!

**Such is irrelevant! You will cease to train with her at once! I will take over! I will forgo calling you with a scroll from now on! I will directly involve myself!**

"No! I'll train with both of you. That's final!" Jaune said with steadfastness. Even in this state of madness, he would defend her the best he could, no matter what it was. Jaune _would _stand for her. Beside her. With her. His heart beat ever faster at his defiance.

He heard nothing more. The scroll had been hung up. The call was done. "Mr Arc?" Goodwitch said with a careful voice. The sound of heels slowly coming towards him were all that was heard in the deathly silent hall. Even Cardin Winchester was looking worried for Jaune. The knight had saved his life after all…

"Yes Professor?" Jaune whimpered meekly, fearful that he had done something wrong. Lifting Cardin's mace, he offered it back to the bigger brown haired boy. He swiftly took his weapon back and then stepped away from Jaune. "I hope my call didn't take up too much time…"

Professor Goodwitch really didn't know what to say. She was bewildered. Nothing like this had ever happened before during her entire tenure as Deputy Headmaster. "I.. " The Professor was at a loss for words. What could be done? Had the boy truly his mind?

Jaune's blue eyes blinked twice before he shrunk away from the intimidating Professor, taking her silence as an indicator of blame. "I'm sorry ma'am! Please don't give me detention I-" pleaded Jaune as Professor Goodwitch raised her hands to hold his shoulders as the boy rambled, having used the palm of his hand to slap his own forehead in self-chastisement.

"Mr. Arc!" She shouted finally, bribing his attention back. "Please." Her right arm extended to motion towards the rest of Team JNPR as well as Team RWBY. "Simply take a seat. Class is dismissed!" Jaune slumped his shoulders and slinked out of the arena to return to his teammates. _Why do they look so scared? I just made a mistake! How could I have anticipated the call would take that long!_ He sighed and berated himself mentally more when he saw Pyrrha. So full of worry and concern.

"Hey guys! Man, I thought I was done for…" joked the blonde, trying to lighten the darkened mood that both teams seemed to have had clouded over them. "Come on guys! Lighten up!" Turning to Ruby, he smiled at her and began to speak again. "Rubes! Wanna go to the dust shop this weekend like you keep asking? I'll even let you _design_ blueprints for an upgrade. But don't actually do it!" he exclaimed swiftly. Crocea Mors was not hers to change!

Ruby had the flash of joy on her face, briefly getting excited at finally getting bestie Jaune to go with her to the dust shop like he said he would! But the reality of what had just occurred was simply too much. Had she truly lost her best friend? _Good enough to get into Beacon two years early… not good enough to save my first friend…_ she thought in anguish. "Maybe another time Jaune" the red cloaked reaper said softly.

Jaune was dumbstruck! Ruby? Declining a trip to the dust shop? Who had killed her and taken her skin as a body suit! "Come on! What's the problem? I said I'd go?" Jaune looked upset as his teammates and friends were silent and contemplative.

"Jaune" he heard Pyrrha say from his side. Her voice was kind and filled with obvious affection that Jaune missed (but was slowly, ever so slowly, taking the hint.) His blue, soul-piercing gaze peered into her beautiful emerald eyes. They instinctively got closer to one another, slowly making their way out of the class, causing the rest to follow along. Jaune felt her hand slip into his again and hold on tightly. Her head nearly rested on his shoulder but did not, given his armor shoulder pads. Jaune squeezed her hand back as they silently walked back to their dorm. Their next class was not for another few hours now that Goodwitch ended her own class early. Nora and Ren looked at Jaune, concerned with his well-being after witnessing what had occurred. As they reached their dorm room, Ren turned to them to speak.

"I have to go to the library. Nora, would you like to come?"

Nora looked at Jaune with total worry, her fears confirmed. What she had witnessed that night had occurred in front of all their cohorts. There would be no hiding it now. She decided that helping Ren and Blake try and find some answers would be the best way forward. The hammer-wielder nodded and followed her ninja away from Pyrrha and Jaune. The red haired amazon gave Nora a silent thanks as she turned to Jaune.

"Jaune… are you ok?" She questioned in a soft and caring tone. The blonde knight looked confused. Why wouldn't he be ok? Pyrrha was still holding his hand and he wasn't letting go any time soon. His face contorted as he tried to wave her concerns off with humor, making a step towards their dorm room. He felt her grip tighten, stopping him from moving and making him face her. They were close, closer than before. _I could just lean in and_-

_He could just lean in and-_

_No _they both thought in unison. That would be a grave violation of each other's trust. Besides, this was clearly not the time for something so… intimate, no matter how badly they wanted it to happen.

"Why? Is something wrong Pyr? I promise, I'm fine! I just got distracted by that call!"

Pyrrha broke her eye-contact and looked away, hiding the wetness that was welling at her green eyes. She couldn't be seen this way. She had to be strong for him, now more than ever. "You really believe that…" she said under her breath. She didn't want to believe Nora, but now there was undeniable evidence. Something was truly wrong with Jaune and there could be no hiding. She swore in that moment she would save him from this. Save him and love him. If she could just muster the strength.

"Believe what?" pressed Jaune, having heard her words. "I really did get a scroll call! It just-"

"No, Jaune!" Pyrrha snapped her head back up to look at him, trying to hide the tears. Jaune looked taken aback at the sight. His free hand went to her face and wiped the tears away, causing Pyrrha to smile sadly. Even now he was caring for her well-being first.

"You were talking into Cardin's mace, Jaune… that isn't normal. And it wasn't a silly joke either. You were talking with someone and someone was talking back and I don't know who!" Her voice was frustrated, mostly at herself, causing Jaune to worry about her even more so! "Jaune. Please… let us help you ... we can get you the help you need. You don't have to do this alone."

It was now Jaune's turn to become irritated. While he did not break free from her grasp, enjoying its presence far too much to let go, he narrowed his eyes as he recalled Diavolo's… words. Why would he recall his own middle name? Huh? His irritation dissipated as confusion set in. "Pyr… I'm fine. Never been better! I mastered my semblance! Didn't you see! I could do it all by myself and without delay!"

Pyrrha nodded, affirming she had indeed seen him do it. But she wished he didn't. Was it selfish to wish her friend and partner never discovered his Semblance? Maybe, but to her it was better than slowly watching him lose his mind because of it. Jaune felt her hand squeeze his own hand again. "I know… and I am proud, Jaune. You've come so far and I'm so proud of you. But… you have to come to terms. Something is wrong with you. I think you may be hearing voices?"

Jaune held a quizzical look. Him? Voices? No way. He was the picture of perfect health! Physically and mentally! Mostly! Somewhat! Above average at least!

"C'mon Pyrrha, I would be the first to know if I had voices in my head!" Jaune laughed, waving her concerns away once more. "I'm all fine! Now let's get some-"

Pyrrha once again felt confused. She knew that they were outside their dorms. She was talking to Jaune about his mental health, something he was denying. It didn't seem like he was doing it to keep his problems off their shoulders like he did with Cardin, but that he really didn't think he had any issues.

That though, was not a current issue. The current issue at hand was trying to figure out why they were now in their dorm room. Pyrrha was sitting on her own bed, confused and bewildered. She never once recalled opening the door, let alone walk through it to sit on her bed. _What? What happened? Is this another one of those strange occurrences? _Pyrrha looked up to Jaune who was changing into his school uniform from his hoodie and armor. His shield and sword clunked down to the ground with a _thump!_ Pyrrha was far too shocked to even oogle at Jaune's upper body.

"Jaune?"

"Yea Pyr?" The knight replied with a turn of his head and a smile on his face. Pyrrha flushed red like Ruby's hair. _He was saying something. Saying we should get something? Why don't I remember ever hearing the end to that?_

"You were saying that we should get something? What should we get?"

Jaune looked at with one brow raised. That was weird. Pyrrha was almost always paying attention. Especially when he was making suggestions. It was quite odd to Jaune that she had just blanked out like that. "Well, I was saying we should get some rest before the next class. Oobleck really doesn't like it if we doze off during his lectures!" chuckled Jaune as he slipped as uniform on and jumped onto his own bed, bringing his hands to slide under his head as he looked up. One of his legs crossed the other and he slightly tapped one of his own feet. "Oh… right. Of course…"

"Everything all right Pyrrha?" he questioned with serious concern. If she was spacing out, that might have indicated a lack of sleep. As team leader, Jaune had to look out for his teammates! Especially Pyrrha! Because she was his partner and he was head over heels for her!

"Never better" She said wearily as she turned her body to lay on her side. Satisfied with that answer, Jaune copied her movements to look at her back from his point of view. He wished he could be there in that bed with her. Not like that of course, but… just to comfort her. She clearly seemed distressed. _Maybe we can talk later. She seems tired_

**See how she questions you. How she doubts you! My sweet little Jaune…. Only I, Diavolo, can teach you to use your full power ... and soon….**

* * *

After a long day of classes, Team RWBY and JNPR said their goodnights and went off to bed, all of them were exhausted after a day of arduous class work, as well as the elephant in the room, the incident that occurred in Professor Goodwitch's class.

Yawning, Jaune Arc quickly switched into his pajamas and fell face first onto his bed, which elicited a giggle from either Nora or Pyrrha. Though it sounded iffy. Sad even. _Eh, it's nothing. _Jaune gave no more thought to it.

As he lay in bed, he heard his teammates put their own sleeping ware on and fall into their own beds. When he heard his partner slam into her's, he turned his head to look at her. He was surprised to see her emerald eyes looking right back at his blue. "Goodnight, Pyr…" mumbled the sleepy night to his partner. Even being dog tired Jaune knew he could not skip their nightly ritual.

"Goodnight, Jaune" he heard from the other bed. It aaa soft and apprehensive, with a twinge of guilt somewhere in his voice. Jaune once again paid no mind. _Must have been the long day_. The Spartan heard her partner swiftly fall asleep while she herself stayed fully awake. Her mind was once again racing. She couldn't stay up so late like this again, but if she went to sleep… the nightmare would come back. Pyrrha utterly hated it. Being unable to save Jaune. Sighing, she went to close her eyes. Surprisingly, she found her eyelids heavy too. They came crashing down and sleep quickly took her.

When she awoke, it was due to the sound of speaking. Thought it wasn't any voice she recognized. It was deep and dark, soft but intimidating. She rolled over and rubbed her eyes to get a closer look at what was making the noise.

Pyrrha wished she had just stayed asleep. At least the nightmare was just that. A nightmare. This was not.

Jaune's aura was flowing crimson red like before. Gone was the white, it's last traces left in the nearest strands of aura to his own body. Even from her she could feel his massive reserve emanate power outwards. It was his large soul, filled with love.

Gazing up from Jaune, she stifled as gasp as she saw the same humanoid being from her nightmares. Only his face, once again. Filled with angry. It's own forehead matched Jaune's Semblance, bearing even the same angry face as it's carrier did. The cracked green eyes belonging to the being shot towards Pyrrha. When he spoke, she saw Jaune's mouth unconsciously move.

"**I will not have the strength to speak with you like this again…. Stay from him. Eternal greatness is only within him. Pyrrha Nikos. Your training of Jaune ... is over." **Watching with fear as the aura dissipated and the being faded away. Her heart rate was shot through the roof as fear took over her body and sweat trickled down her brow. It was the same being. The same angry face from her nightmares. The same thing she had seen for a moment in the arena.

_Who was that? What does he want with Jaune? I can't let this.. thing.. hurt him anymore. Jaune.._

She turned to look at his now peaceful sleeping figure. He was handsome even now, as his breaths blew strands of his own long, blonde hair aside. Pyrrha would have found if incredible cute if not for the circumstances. As the Amazonian found herself falling asleep once more, she promised herself one thing.

Nothing would hurt Jaune. Not even that thing.

She fell asleep and for once, her sleep was dreamless.

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone it has been a while, hasn't it? I apologize for taking so long to write this next chapter, but's combination of classes having begun this week and me trying to make this chapter as best as it can be. I have tried to slow down the plot and drive more character interactions and development. I hope you will enjoy this longer chapter and I await your feedback on it. **

**Oh, and I've been playing WoW Classic. (Grobbulus-RP-PvP server, level 21 warlock! Join our guild! The Fate Breakers! ) That's another reason why this is taking so long. Chapter 2 of JaJaunlion is next on my list. See you then. **


	5. The Mystery of King Crimson, Part 1

Ren flipped another page and sipped from his cup of coffee late in the evening. While he wasn't much of a fan of the drink at first, he did admit that it had grown on him. Having to spend all nighters cramming for tests and looking for answers on Diavolo. So far, Blake and him had found… some results. Nothing substantial, but still, it was something to work off. Currently he was picking through a volume of _Semblances throughout the Ages: A History _for anything similar to Jaune's. By now, Ren and Blake had theorized that Jaune was unconsciously manifesting and using his Semblance, his true semblance that was. The precognition was part of it yes, but not the whole thing. That much was clear to the two.

But the question was now _what_ it was and how it was related to this Diavolo. Everyone had seen Jaune's insane 'scroll call' during combat class. There was definitely something wrong and the key to it had to be Diavolo.

Their early attempts were met with frustration however. Most genealogy and history books were curiously wiped away of, mostly if not all, information relating to Diavolo Una. Who was this mysterious historical figure that married into the Arc family so many years ago? Why did every Arc after him share the middle name of Diavolo? Each lead they made created new questions. How did Diavolo affect Jaune's Semblance? What was the relation between the two?.

With perseverance, they continued their task well into the night. It was a day after the events in combat class and they felt rushed to find something. They had collectively discovered a few things about Diavolo and even hints about Jaune's semblance. It was becoming more clear to Ren that somebody didn't want people reading about Diavolo.

Firstly, they had discovered that Diavolo had lived several hundred years ago. Secondly they had pieces together from broken accounts that his Semblance was by all means, invincible. That was all they had pulled together from a full day of thankless research. Still they trekked on. Their friends, their school even, could be at risk.

Blake was sipping greedily at her mug of coffee as she turned another page in yet another book of Valish genealogy. It took incredible effort to not get sucked into some of the more interesting family histories. Instead, she was scouring the pages for any mentions of Diavolo or the Arc family. _Why would someone want to keep history on a man who died hundreds of years ago under the wraps? _Blake pondered as she turned another page of her tome. It made little sense to her. Why would someone go through such an effort? It only deepened the mystery of Diavolo.

She turned another page and began her now familiar routine. Scan the pages up and down, left and right, at least three times each. Neither of them could not afford to miss something in their readings. _I hope Ren is having a better time _she grumbled internally as her amber eyes found yet another page of useless information. Sighing, she turned the page and…

Somewhere down the middle of the page, she found some interesting things. It was the first mention of the Arc family in the entire book. Specifically Diavolo. In the passage, she read about how Diavolo was a high profile criminal in his time. _The Roman Torchwick of his era?_ Blake wondered for a moment before moving on to read the rest.

The passage detailed some minor things about Diavolo such as his height and hair color (pink with black polka dots certainly was strange fashion to Blake) but nothing about his history. Until she reached the middle of the passage. _His Semblance… gods… it's a name and brief description… pulled from his academy records? His Semblance has a name and description..._

Blake's eyes widened as she read the two words at the top.

Student Name: Diavolo Una

_King Crimson. Power to erase ti-_

_Precognition of future events. Unavoidable._

Like most other things, the ink had either dried or the book was tampered with. Someone must have been lazy with his one. She didn't know what any of it meant beyond what was clearly a description of Jaune's Epitaph. What little she gleaned from the information put an idea in her head. "Ren" She said quietly. Neither had spoken for several hours and the sound broke Ren from his reading with a slight jump. "Yes?" he asked with a tired look.

"I think I have an idea on what to look for next. School records. I think whoever has been erasing all this information might have forgot to check school records."

Ren pondered that for a moment. Blake didn't know if he was thinking or was simply too tired to respond, but eventually he did. "That might work. Let me get some."

Blake gave him a thankful nod as the stoic boy rose from his seat and swiftly went to find ancient school records. While there may have not been the exact huntsmen academies they knew today, there most certainly had to have been some form of training schools in Diavolo's time.

Ten minutes later, Ren returned with at least three old books on Valish training schools of the past. She took one while he took the other. Each took a sip of coffee before cracking open the dusty old things and getting back to work. Some of the schools were completely foreign to him but others he vaguely recognized. Combat schools like Sanctum and Signal were familiar names that slowly but surely began to appear more and more often. Despite Huntsmen and Huntresses becoming official jobs after the Great War, there seemed to have been a need for great warriors well into the past. More importantly, it was far enough in the past that they could find whatever schooling this Diavolo received.

Ren turned a page to read about another school, one called Passione Academy for Warriors. Like usual he read a roster of names. It appeared this school was half combat and half academic, quite like Beacon in a way. His eyes immediately fell to the D's, looking for his quarry. _Diego, Dio, Diavolo, Enrico Pucci-wait_. His eyes shot back to the name he was looking for. He had found something.

Student Name: Diavolo Una

Year: 4

Year of Graduation: 1345

Semblance: King Crimson - Time erasure

Degree: Aura Studies

Thesis Paper: Aura Transfer and Manipulation

Ren took in the minimal but possibly useful information. Their search appeared to narrow to a school called Passione. He'd make sure to find a school book specific to them next. What intrigued him the most, however, was his thesis paper. _Aura Transfer?_ _Can one even transfer aura? _Ren pondered. Aura was a manifestation of one's soul. If you tried to force someone else's aura into another person, what would happen? The question seemed unanswerable ... but it did start making some pieces connect. _What if… what if this Diavolo did something with aura?... Perhaps with the Arc family?_

—

While her fellow black haired research was investigating school books for leads on Diavolo, Blake was scanning for the inverse. Any information on the Arc family before and after Diavolo married into them.

So far, she'd been reaping her reward big time. There was invaluable information to be found, but it needed to be processed and deduced. Hints had to be drawn from things that were or weren't true about the Arcs.

What was true, as she had found out, was that the Arc family had conflicting records regarding their semblances. It all tied back to Diavolo. As Blake had read, before the Arc-Una marriage, they had a semblance that was considered powerful and unique among semblances. There was little in actual description, but all accounts said that their aura was large and was bright white when active.

This contrasted greatly after Diavolo married into their family. Old school records showed that almost immediately, Nicholas Diavolo Arc-Una demonstrated a totally different semblance than his grandfather. The one before Diavolo married in. Once again, the information was lacking detail and this time it appeared someone had tampered with the book. Their lucky streak of open information once again came to a close. However, she did glean from what was there that all Arc's had red aura. Much like Jaune. The Arc students also demonstrated recorded symptoms similar to Jaune. _Some things are starting to add up… _Blake thought, writing the new information down in her little notepad detailing all she had found. It was a puzzle whose pieces were starting to make a recognizable shape. She had a feeling they were getting close.

Which caused her to think of another problem. _This Diavolo or whoever is working for him… he's been cleaning out information for countless years from what we've seen in these books… why would he have stopped now? _

Blake shook her head and put the thought to her side. It was a problem for a later date. She felt confident that they could handle it, and if not, well they had their professors. Right?

—

The pair of studying teens came together with all their new information. It was half past two in the morning and not even all the coffee in the world could keep them up any longer. They'd finish their pow-wow meeting, share what they learned and then hit the hay.

Ren rubbed his eyes, feeling the bags that been forming underneath. Nora had shown concern at first but decided to let it slide. It was for Jaune. Both of them cared for him like siblings. No length was too great for him.

"I'll start first" Blake said with a yawn, her bow twitching slightly. _I hope we find our answers before the Festival_ Ren thought with concern. He wanted Team JNPR to do well, and he couldn't bring his all if he was so sleep deprived during the Vytal Festival, which was only weeks away. Ren nodded for her to start speaking with a pencil in his hand ready to jot down new notes.

"I've discovered that the Arc family Semblance was different before Diavolo joined their family. While I don't know what it was, it's supposedly quite powerful and bizarre. Rarely used too. The last known Arc to have used it was a cousin named... Gio Arc? I think? His name seemed to have been scratched out. Whoever did it was in a hurry. But anyways, this Semblance had a bright white aura… while Jaune has a red one. Turns out all the Arc's leading up to Diavolo seemed to share this red aura. Their school reports also show that all these Arc men? The same exact stuff happening with Jaune Ren! It must have something to do with Aura and Diavolo. Somehow he must have… done something to the Arc family's Aura? But aura is a manifestation of the soul and… I don't… I don't think this.. King Crimson is the Arc family semblance but for some reason… it is…"

Blake trailed off. She didn't really know what else to say. That was the extent of all she learned and the implications were quite terrifying. If Diavolo had somehow… inserted or copied himself into their aura?... She shuddered briefly.

Ren finished writing down his notes and shook his sore hand lightly. Note taking was never his forte anyways. Now it was his turn to relay what he learned to her.

"You were right about the school records. Whoever's been clearing records forget to check them. I found this on him" he explained as he slid the Passione school book towards Blake. He continued speaking as she scanned over the text. "He was a student, though I can't find any pictures of him nor even drawings. The book detailed him a bit more, describing his semblance some more… I… I can't wrap my head around it. The information is vague beyond the fact that it's some kind of invincible semblance ..."

Blake read over the bookmarked page for Diavolo with her tired amber eyes. Her eyes felt like they were about to fall out of their sockets, harkening her memory back to when she did something similar with the White Fang all those months ago. Back then it was just herself, but now Ren was involved too. _I don't think anyone will mind this time though…_

"Most importantly, I found his thesis paper. It's poorly translated from whatever language they spoke back then but… I know enough. It's about aura transfer. He lived hundreds of years ago before the Great War, and he was thinking about aura transfer?... I don't even think we can do something like that now ..."

Blake furrowed her brow and her cat ears twitched lightly. _Someone else is here_ she thought as she listened to Ren. "I think… I think we have our first piece Ren!" her voice was tired but excited. This would be the first real lead they had in awhile. "We know Diavolo was studying aura and we know that this King Crimson power is NOT the Arc family semblance! And if aura is a manifestation of the soul.. then… maybe Diavolo managed to figure out how to transfer his aura into…" she gulped lightly at the horrifying thought. "Into the Arc family. Into his own child's aura….it might have suppressed the natural aura and semblance of the Arc's and… forced his soul to be a part of theirs… passed on… generation after generation. How else would each Arc be exhibiting the same symptoms?" posited the faunus. Her supposition was solid to be sure. As of now he had no alternative to her theory.

"I suppose we'll have to move forward with that as our working theory…." Ren exhaled, his eyes falling on themselves. Still, he graced her with a smile. "Good work tonight." Blake weakly smiled back. It was all she could muster in this state.

"You too…."

_There it is again. That sound. It sounds like… typing?_

Her ears quivered again towards the direction of the sound. Ren was packing up and headed to the library exit before turning towards her with a quizzical look. "Blake?"

She waved him off lightly with a "You go on ahead. I need to put a few other books back." Ren merely yawned then shrugged. He was finished for the night and desperately wanted to sleep. Blake did in fact need to put up her last book, but she also needed to look at the computer section of the library. Was somebody else here? Surely not…

She creeped along the bookshelves in the shadows as the sound of the typing got closer and closer. Blake crouched and put her back to the bookshelf that sat on the edge between it and the computer tables. Even with her faunus vision she had a hard time making out the now obvious third person. She had to hold in a gasp when she squinted.

Sitting in a seat was a silhouette of a man she could barely make out, but that was not what shocked her. What shocked her was that a flaring red aura was surrounding the man- no, it was surrounding the being that was floating? Standing? Merging? She could not tell what it was doing but it seemed to overlap from above the man, typing on the computer. Her eyes could not tell what he was looking for. She strained her ears to hear more, and regretted doing so. She at once heard his low voice and it sounded familiar… yet not. It was a deep voice but even now she could hear Jaune Arc's friendly and goofy voice in there.

"**I thought I'd made it disappear, but one's past wraps itself around one's true peace. Unbelievable, I thought I had erased everything in these records ..." **he seemed to be opening several folders and scrolling down and finally clicking on a picture.

_Someone was actively getting rid of information_ she thought in a panic. She _had_ been right to worry that they might have been caught. _This… is this Diavolo?_

"**But they are just school records… If I can just get rid of that. I can stay in the prime and continue with Jaune… To think such a thing existed….. I had almost missed it" **She felt unbridled rage exuding from the standing being with its angry face and red criss-crossed skin. Blake heard the sound of the computer cracking and widened her eyes as the being crushed the computer in its hands in a pure rage. "**I'll have to deal with this myself. I can't let anyone get in the way. Especially that Nikos girl"**

_Pyrrha? Why is he interested in Pyrrha?_ Blake wondered. She knew that something had happened between Jaune and her, causing her to drift apart from him. Jaune had begun to train on his own and supposedly, he was still speaking to himself. _But if this Diavolo is a part of him… he really would be getting training from Diavolo…._

Blake was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the librarian enter the library for her morning shift. The woman often came around three to prepare for the day before returning for some sleep and then finally opening up at nine sharp. The being snapped its head towards Blake's position and she felt her heart stop. _Did he see me?_

"Hello?" the librarian called out. She often did whenever Blake and Ren were staying up late to study. Blake's eyes widened at the call. If it was any other morning she would have replied but this morning?...

_Please don't say my name please don't-_

How did she get to standing over the computer desk? When had she moved there? And more importantly… where had the man gone? Where were the remains of the computer he had destroyed? Nothing was making sense until she put two and two together.

_King Crimson…. It must have gone into effect!_ Blake Belladonna had seen many things in her life. She had survived the abusive relationship of Adam Taurus, the growing evils of the White Fang and the monsters of Grimm. But nothing terrified her as much as this. This… King Crimson…

Blake nearly bolted out of the library. She would have to tell Ren about this later.

**Three Weeks to the Vytal Festival **

The Beacon Rooftops were always a place of comfort for Jaune. Whenever Pyrrha and he would come up to train there was always a sense of calmness. A sense of belonging and safety even though they were fighting. Usually after they'd finish the two would often simply sit or speak to one another. Their hands often fell into one another, an unspoken event that neither had the courage to take further. All in all, Jaune Arc had many reasons to enjoy the rooftops of Beacon.

Diavolo did none of these things. Ever since Pyrrha stopped training him, something that hurt him deep in his heart, he had been learning control of his Semblance with the help of Diavolo. His training was different to say the least. Unlike Pyrrha, he was a harsher taskmaster. Mistakes were not tolerated and encouragement was quite rare. He was never outrightly cruel but…

He missed Pyrrha. A lot. He hadn't truly realized the full depth of his crush on the Amazonian champion until he was parted from her. She seemed to be avoided him even outside of training, and for some reason kept insisting that he was well.. crazy!

Everything had been different with his friends since the call. Yang and Weiss had been more apprehensive when speaking to him and from Ruby he felt the one thing he didn't want. Pity. He hated it! His whole life people had pitied him or told him it was ok to not succeed! Even his parents pitied him!

Well no more! Diavolo was his teacher now and from what he said, Jaune's Semblance was invincible. _I'll show my friends they've been worrying for nothing! No ones gonna have to pity poor Jaune Arc anymore! Not when I'm at the top_!

**Jaune!** A deep voice from within him called out. These new in-ear scrolls were truly a marvel of modern technology (in reality, a simple ear plug.) **You are being distracted again! The Nikos girl continues to plague your thoughts!**

Jaune could only shrug hesitantly and smiled weakly to no one in particular. Diavolo wasn't here to see him smile! Not that he could see him!

"What can I say… I uh… miss her a lot. I don't know what I did to mess it all up…" Jaune sighed as he slumped his shoulders, the tip of Crocea Mors gently connecting with the ground. His shield was gripped in his off hand, dangling loosely in his grip. **She is envious of you! Fears you! They all do! You are no longer weak! You are at the very top, my sweet, cute little Jaune. You are a king. She is no longer on her pedestal. King Crimson is far superior to her mediocre semblance!**

Jaune frowned and spoke up to argue against Diavolo. "She's not the kind of person to be jealous. Plus she hates being put up on a pedestal like that! Her Semblance is great too! It makes mine look pretty useless. Well. I think so. I don't really know how it works yet but…"

**Jaune! You cannot let her distract you! Us! Let us begin again! It must become as natural as breathing to you. To erase time. I do not have the strength to do it for you ... not always…**

Jaune sighed again and pulled his sword and shield back up into a fighting stance. He prepared to engage in the same routine he did every night since he and Pyrrha stopped training together. Sword and shield in a battle stance, his mind cleared of other thoughts and his breath steady. _Just like talking a walk Jaune. Like breathing he said…_

He closed his eyes and slashed left, then right. Each time he swung he tried to imagine the end results. _I have to skip. Or was it erase? How does this work again? _

**It just works, Jaune!** Diavolo snapped at him, forcing him to focus. "Ok! Ok! I'm trying! It just works! Great… thanks…" he said with a low grumble as he continued his routine of slashes and strikes. Each time a short grunt would follow his attack. He was working up a sweat but still, his Semblance didn't activate.

With an irritated slash towards the door he growled in anger until he saw her. Red hair, but dark red. Mixed with black. _Oh._ His heart had jumped for a second. But then he realized he was still swinging his sword at Ruby. Ruby Rose looked shocked but her own instincts kicked in as she pulled Crescent Rose. It mecha-shifted into its usual form and Ruby panic fired her sniper.

_OH _Jaune thought. Man, how embarrassing. Here he was, going to die because his best friend accidently shot him because he scared her with his sword. Why was he still slashing again? Oh right. He saw red hair and thought it was Pyrrha. _Man Diavolo was right_

Then he saw the world scratch red and a deep sound echoed in his ears. Ruby's single bullet flew towards him but never hit. It flew past him; rather through him. Or so he thought. He wasn't quite sure what just happened. "J-Jaune?" she said, screamed more like, rushing over to her best friend that she had just shot at. Ruby shot over towards Jaune and pulled her friend into a hug. "JAUNE? Are you OK? Did you get hurt? Are you ok?"

He felt himself crushed under her weight and speed, pulling her off him after a moment. "Gah! Ruby! I'm fine! I'm fine! The bullet uh... "

What had the bullet done? Go through him?

**Jaune… my sweet Jaune… You have just taken your first step. You just blew away 0.5 seconds of time. But you must not be distracted. Distractions will prevent growth. And you must grow to become the king. **

Jaune looked away from Ruby to snap at Diavolo. "It's just Ruby! She's my friend! My best friend! One of them! She's not a distraction! You know I'm sick of you telling me who I can or can't hang out with!" Diavolo was silent. Jaune felt victorius for once. "Anyways, Ruby! What's up?"

Ruby was looking up at him with her silver eyes so full of worry. He prayed that it wasn't more pity. He did not need her pity. Jaune wanted things to be normal again! He wanted Ruby to treat him normally once more but she wasn't! She was still sending pity his way. "Jaune… are you still talking to...?" Ruby spoke softly, with kindness permeating every bit of her tone.

"The voice in my head? he finished for her, annoyance ingrained in him now. He didn't care that Ruby accidentally shot him! He didn't care one bit! What he did care about was that people, his friends thought he was crazy! Ruby looked away. Unable to meet his eyes. "Ruby! You believe me right? That I'm not crazy? There is no voice in my head! I promise you! I'm just using this earpiece connected to my scroll! It's just a scroll call! Right? Right Ruby?" Jaune started speaking calmly, if not annoyed, but soon his voice become more frantic and strained.

Ruby still didn't look at him. Jaune swore he could see wetness gather at the edges of her silver hues. He hated it so much. He didn't want her pity or her tears! He wanted her to trust him! To believe him. "Ruby… please…"

The girl looked up at him and wiped away her burgeoning tears with the cuffs of her combat skirt. "Jaune… you're my best friend. The first friend I made at Beacon. But I need you to listen to us. To me! You've got a serious problem going on and you need to see someone for help!"

Jaune groaned in anger and broke away from Ruby in frustration. "First my team, then yours, then Pyrrha… now you?" He turned to look at her with tired blue eyes. Ruby swore she saw his aura flash deep red as and the terrifying being Blake told them about in the library. "Please don't tell me you think I'm crazy too?"

Ruby took a breath and looked him dead in the eyes. She did not falter, wind kicking up her red cloak left and right. Jaune stared back at her until his resolve broke first. Ruby opened her mouth and spoke.

"No Jaune. I don't think you're crazy…"

Jaune felt a wave of relief wash over him. At least his oldest, closest friend still believed in him….

Ruby hated lying to Jaune. They were connected in a way different from the others. Sure Yang was her sister, Weiss her partner and Blake her friend, but Jaune and her were both _leaders. _They had a challenge the rest didn't have. To lead their teams. He was her first friend at Beacon and the dorky duo were almost like unofficial partners.

But now she stood on the roof and was watching that friend, that dorky best friend she had, lose his mind right before her eyes. She really didn't want to believe it when Pyrrha told her about it. She held out longer than anyone else in calling him crazy or that he had lost it. Ren and Blake were doing some sort of investigation but… now. Now she had to face reality.

So she lied. She lied because she couldn't see Jaune with those those begging eyes. Ruby walked over to him and hugged him. Jaune awkwardly hugged his best friend back. "I really thought I'd lost you too" Jaune said sadly to her.

Letting go, Ruby began walking back to the door. "Goodnight Jaune… don't stay up training too long ok? Please?" Her palm shook lightly. She couldn't stay here anymore. Not when he was like this. The reaper in red opened the door and walked back inside down the stairs. When she made it to the bottom, she looked up at Pyrrha and sadly shook her head. Ruby knew how much the amazon was into Jaune. Everyone but the blond knight knew. It broke her heart, but she figured Pyrrha's heart was breaking even more.

"Sorry" the scythe wielding girl said sadly, extending a hand to comfort Pyrrha who looked deathly grim. The champion waited for a second before speaking again.

"It's… fine…" she lied. It truly wasn't fine. Nothing was fine.

Everything was worse.

—

**Three Weeks to the Vytal Festival, Friday**

A massive storm had hit Beacon Academy since late last night. It hadn't started all too badly but slowly progressed into a rotten thunderstorm halfway through Friday. It had gotten so bad that the power went out through the school. Some students, such as the leader of Team RWBY, went into full panic mode and had to be calmed down by their partners(especially those named Weiss), much to the amusement of a certain elder sister and her feline friend.

Other students relished the fact that some classes were cancelled though most knew they'd have at least one class to attend even through the terrible storm.

Inside Professor Glynda Goodwitches darkened combat class, a room full of unhappy students were watching a dimly lit arena as Professor Goodwitch completed yet another duel. While some Professor like Port or Peach cancelled their lectures, Goodwitch and Oobleck both maintained their classes. Much to everyone's disappointment.

While most of the class was darkened, there were a few backup lights flickering across the room. The main backup lights were hovering over the actual arena itself. It covered most of the dueling area except for the four corners, leaving them nearly pitch black especially those at the far side of the arena. While Professor Goodwitch's scroll had aura information on it, the main screen was blank which left every participant to make guesswork on both their own aura and their enemies aura. Professor Goodwitch thought it was a good lesson to teach on the reality of combat outside of a controlled arena.

Majority of the students did not see it that way. Especially not Jaune Arc, who sat miserably with his teammates and their sister team RWBY. _Really, one day! Just one day where Professor Goodwitch doesn't torture us to death! _It was wishful thinking at best, a forlorn hope for the students on death row. Ruby had just finished fighting Blake, who both fought to a standstill until Ruby won the match by a silver lining. She had expertly used her semblance to fly through the blind spots in the darkened corners and then fly straight towards Blake and hit her with Crescent Rose. Goodwitch, monitorering their aura, called the close match. "Excellent work Ms. Rose, Ms. Belladonna. I commend your use of your environment Ms. Rose." Ruby positively beamed at the praise and Blake patted her team leader on the back as the two made their way back to their seats.

_Come on. Come on. Not me. Not me. Not-_

"Jaune Arc and Yang Xiao-Long!" The Professor boomed out the next too.

-_Me…_

**Jaune… my cute, sweet Jaune. I did not wish to do this so soon but…. I must force your hand. Today I will show you the truth. The reality of your, our, power. You must see. **

Jaune just nodded at Diavolo's words, not really paying them much mind. He'd use the Semblance he knew, Epitaph, and just hope his 'real' Semblance just worked again. "Come in VB! You ready to use your big sword on me today?" Yang smirked at her fellow blond as the pair walked to get their equipment.

Sighing, Jaune didn't give Yang the reaction she hoped for, causing her to take a worried look. The brawler had hoped for at least some kind of reaction from her teasing. She wouldn't really show it as much, but the prospect of losing a friend to insanity was something she didn't want happening at all.

Inside the arena, Professor Goodwitch took the center stage, holding up her scroll to show both combatants she was monitoring their aura. While she wouldn't tell them, she had to ensure that there wouldn't be any injuries. "Are you both ready?" She asked in that stern voice of hers. Jaune just nodded while Yang gave a thumbs up. Both blond's entered a battle stance, with Yang holding up her fists in a basic guard. Leading arm forward, defensive arm back. It irked Jaune that she would use a form he knew she usually used for less than stellar opponents. To those that paid attention and liked to strategize, it meant she wouldn't be putting too much effort in. Jaune shook his head clear of those negative thoughts. _Don't think about your friends that way _

**Only I am truly looking out for you, Jaune**

The knight took a low crouched stance with his sword and shield, ignoring Diavolo.

"Begin!"

Yang took the initiative and used her gauntlets to fire herself towards Jaune. The knight barely had a moment to reach as Yang collided fist first into his rising shield. He felt his aura ring with energy as it rushed to brace his arm. Jaune wagered the damage was minimal. He had a large aura after all. Using her opened chest as an opportunity, Jaune lunged with a thrust straight into her ribs, feeling the swift slam of her own defending aura. Yang brought a knee up in response that was quickly deflected.

Running towards Jaune again, Yang jumped onto his shield and pushed herself upwards. She rained a hail of shotgun pellets that Jaune narrowly rolled to avoid. He felt Epitaph activate and in his bangs he saw that… he would lose his shield?! It would flatter to the ground with Yang standing over it!?

Jaune's eyes widened as he turned round to see Yang shooting herself back down towards him. Jaune raised his shield to defend himself but quickly thought of a better idea. Taking a page out of Pyrrha's book, Jaune threw his shield straight at Yang who did not expect such a move from him. With her momentum committed she had no way of defending herself. The shield slammed into her stomach and broke her attack, throwing her into the shadows of the corner. Jaune ran over to try and get his shield, glad that his premonition came true (as they always did) in a positive way.

What he didn't account for was several rage induced punches from Yang Xiao-Long. Her hair was flaming and her eyes burned red. _Uh oh…_

Jaune barely had time to use his sword to protect himself from the hail of punches and shotgun shells heading his way. His aura took beating after beating as he flew towards the edges of the arena. To the students in the crowd, the fight had begun interesting, but they figured it would end as if always did. Jaune's defeat and Yang's victory.

Jaune watched as Yang kept herself back, alert to any tricks Jaune might play. While she wasn't prepared for his quick thinking at first, she was ready now. No more tricks or surprises. Jaune stood by the edge of the darkened areas of the arena. Once again he activated Epitaph and peered into fate. With the floating gold locks of hair he saw ten seconds into the future.

_Jaune entered the pitch black zone and Yang chased after, releasing a hail of punches that slammed into the person hiding in the darkness, it is difficult to make out. _

Jaune knee what was coming, and prepared for the worse. Might as well hide in the dark while another embarrassing defeat played out.

Yang seemed to have seen him, just barely in the darkness. "There you are!" she shouted as her semblance fueled her forward. "Take this!"

Ember Cecilia slammed into the shadows with tremendous force. Again and again she brought her fists to hit Jaune. Her's was a relentless fury that kept pounding away. Yang glanced at Goodwitch but the stoic professor made no indication that the match was over.

Yang gasped when she looked back at the person she was hitting. The dark silhouette that had surrounded Jaune, the one she had been punching relentlessly at, faded to reveal it was actually… herself?

_Is this?... _she trembled with shock in her thoughts. She was looking at herself, a second Yang was looking back at her. She had been punching herself the whole time? The new Yang was staring back in shock?

"The one hiding in the shadows… was me?" Only the Yang standing at the edge of the darkness spoke.

Then, she started to fade away. One of her at least. The Yang Xiao-Long that had unleashed her volley of furious punches slowly faded away until the only Yang left was the one that had been punched at.

Professor Goodwitch was looking slack jawed and so too were the students. What had just happened? What did Jaune just do?

Then they saw _it_.

Coming out from behind Yang was a being surrounded in red aura, a silhouetted figure behind him that could only be Jaune watched and somehow spoke through the being. Blake immediately recognized it as the figure from the library and Pyrrha could never forget the terrifyingly angry face it possessed. This was the thing that made Jaune speak those things to her….

It was humanoid, sharing a similar build to Jaune. Its body was covered by a raised diagonal grid that was red with silver diagonal lines; save for its face which was grey and metallic like. The pink raised face of Epitaph was visible on its forehead.

A similar metallic color scheme was found in its neck, shoulder guards, elbows, hands, abdomen, knees and feet.

Then it began to speak.

"**What you have witnessed and laid hands upon… was your own future self! The "you" from a few seconds ago saw your future self! This is the ability of my **_**King Crimson**_**. I erased time and leapt passed it!" **The being, no, semblance, proclaimed to Yang and the students.

Yang felt paralyzed with fear, unable to move, not because she was constrained but because her legs simply could not be willed to move. Her body was shaking and sweat matted her hair. The fire from her semblance had gone out and the lilac color has returned to her eyes.

"**Yang Xiao-Long…. this duel… must come to an end…"**

From the shadows, clearly visible, Jaune Arc brought Crocea Mors down hard into Yang's shoulder, smashing through her aura with incredible strength. Yang felt the energy drain her, unsure how much aura she had left. She felt a surge of determination flow through her however and formulated a plan. She could beat this. Whatever _this_ was, and she was going to her friend back.

The terrifying ability Blake and Ren has read about, the one left without much detail, was finally shown to them.

And it was horrifying.

_To be Continued…_

—

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this long chapter. Was it good? Anything to fix? Please let me know. It's quite difficult trying to put the scene where Bruno sees himself into writing, but KC will get easier to put to writing. Given how… inconsistent it is in some cases, I'll hopefully write those first and get them out of the way.**

**Pyrrha won't be taking a passive role after this with Jaune's training, though she will be butting heads with Diavolo. **

**JaJaunelion chapter 3 is next on the docket but if enough people want me to write chapter 6 I will.**

**So see you in two weeks for this story or next week! Depends on what you guys want!**

**See you next time. **


	6. The Mystery of King Crimson, Part 2

The look of shock and horror was evident on the faces of the students. Some couldn't believe what they had just witnessed. Professor Goodwitch herself stood flabbergasted. This was the second time Jaune Arc had caused her to go speechless. The strangeness of the situation had mouths agape, none so more than Pyrrha Nikos and her teammates. Ren shot Blake a look and they both decided what needed to be done. Ozpin needed to be told. This was far beyond them by now.

The sound of Crocea Mors crashing into Yang's aura at the shoulder blade and her gasp of pain was sickening. No one but Professor Goodwitch knew how much Aura Yang had, but many students could take a good guess. Ruby cried out a loud "No!" as her sister was struck by Jaune's sword. She swore she could see blood spurt slightly from the blond girls mouth. The manifestation of Jaune's semblance, King Crimson, hovered gently in front of Jaune.

Regardless of aura, Yang was still in the fight. Whatever Blake and Ren were investigating seemed to have taken over Jaune. Yang didn't want to hurt Jaune but the fire in her heart reignited. _I'll apologize later!_ She decided and began her attack.

Using both of her arms, she shot backwards with Ember Celica to launch herself forward and away from Jaune. Her eyes burned as red as her hair while the shotgun pellets flew in the air.

**She is trying to attack me! **Diavolo thought as the blond girl began her new assault on him. How mistaken she was..

Once she was a good distance away, she shot in front of her win one arm and shifted her body to turn and face Jaune. Her free arm rested back to deliver a massive blow straight to Jaune's face when. Not only that, the blasts from the gauntlets would for sure damage his aura. She'd taken him down this way before in the past. Why mess with success?

But she didn't know what she was up against.

"**But King Crimson… has already…"**

As he spoke, the semblance activated again, again on his own accord. He would use this as a demonstration to Jaune, to show him the ultimate power at his fingertips. King Crimson lifted an arm and just like before the world scratched red and the ground, the walls and everything else around him broke apart, leaving a void of stars in the blackness.

Yang was still throwing her punch… but King Crimson saw its trajectory. Outlined in a red afterimage, Jaune and Diavolo saw the punch travel towards their body. King Crimson stepped aside, Jaune's body moving with him, as the blond was still in control. The red afterimage dissipated as the actual punch came and followed its exact trajectory. All of her movements were seen in the red afterimage that was in front of Yang. Without fail, she would do exactly as was shown.

"**-forecasted it. Your movements in the future" **

King Crimson and Jaune walked together, the semblance raising a hand to show Yang pointlessly throwing punch after punch, all projected. Jaune and King Crimson followed her all the way. Even the little bullets from her gloves were forecast.

"**The trajectory of your movements in the future." **Diavolo spoke, more to Jaune than anyone else. Not that anyone else could hear him anyways. He would _understand_ with demonstration.

"**Within King Crimson's ability, this worlds time disappears, and no one remembers the movements they made within this segment of time. The clouds in the sky don't realize they've broken apart. A flame that's extinguished doesn't even realize the moment it went out." **Jaune was awed with what he saw. To him it simply appeared Yang was moving on auto-pilot. "Incredible…" he mouthed simply as Diavolo continued. The blond boy held his sword and shield tight as he walked beside King Crimson, following Yang her entire way. Everything she was doing seemed so… useless. Utterly useless. Jaune hated useless things.

"**All that remains in this world are the ****results****. In a world where time has been eliminated, all movement becomes pointless! We are the only ones who can react to these movements. We can see every single one of your movements!"**

The ten seconds of erased time were nearly at an end. King Crimson seemingly leading Jaune to a position behind Yang that was most opportune for a strike. Jaune readied himself to thrust into her back with a solid blow.

"**This is ****King Crimson's ****ability."**

The world scrambled red again as time returned to normal. Yang found herself halfway across the room in an instant, wildly throwing her fists of fury at the empty air. Ballets ricocheted off the edges of the arena glass. Thankfully, it was bullet-proof.

A strained gasp exited Yang's mouth before she felt the piercing tip of Crocea Mors burn into her back. Jaune had been behind her and the top of the blade had managed to cut deep enough to cause her to cough up a bit of blood.

Jaune looked satisfied at first before shaking his head. King Crimson vanished as his aura flared red and Yang fell to the ground.

"YANG!" he heard Ruby shout. The girl was rushing towards the arena as Professor Goodwitch called for the medical staff. All around Jaune noise was filling his world.

"I didn't mean to… I didn't…" he started saying softly. Professor Goodwitch was saying something to him but he couldn't hear her. His blue eyes were moving all around the arena and into the students seating. In their eyes was fear instead of pity or mockery. Despite his mixed feelings of guilt and shame about Yang… Jaune felt… good. It gave him a rush as he saw the fear flood their eyes. He wasn't weak anymore. Everyone would know that now. It was a paradoxically blissful and horrible feeling all at the same time.

The medical staff had arrived by now and even Ozpin. Blake and Ren were coming to speak to him, about what Jaune did not know. His eyes searched and searched until he found those emerald irises he was in love with.

The look of shock and _hurt_ on her face was too much. Already strained from the fight, despite feeling like he hasn't exerted himself much, the most miserable feeling in the world took hold when he saw her face. "Pyrrha…" he mumbled as he outstretched his arms towards her and collapsed, sweating up a storm.

The last thing he saw before blacking out was her looking away.

* * *

There was always something truly unnerving about the Headmasters office. The strange cogs, the greenish hue and the vast glass pane that gave a broad view of Beacon all combined with the soft sound of a clock ticking created the most eerie of office environments. It was nearly as terrifying as Professor Goodwitch's office, but that was for a whole different reason.

The two black haired students were told to take a seat in front of the Headmasters wide desk. There were papers strewn across it and the little temptation to take a tiny peak at them ate at the pair. They however had no chance to act on their illicit thoughts when they heard the soft ding of the elevator entrance reverberate throughout the office. Stepping out, to the student's surprise, was not just Headmaster Ozpin, but Goodwitch and a strange man with the shade of a beard and the smell of alcohol about him.

"I apologize for taking so long" the cane wielding professor said as he strolled all the way over to his seat. Professor Goodwitch looked irritated, more than usual for her, while the other man merely blew a puff of air out as he put a raised elbow against the glass pane. His other hand held a flask which no doubt contained liquor.

Ren spoke up first before Blake had a chance to say anything. "Thank you for responding to our request for an office hour so quickly, Headmaster." The stoic boy was formal and polite, rarely having interacted with the enigmatic Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Ozpin waved off the formality swiftly.

"It's no issue. I take the requests of my students very seriously. Besides, from what Professor Goodwitch told me, the two of you have been busy."

The teens looked at each other before looking back at him. _Does he know about Diavolo too? _thought the two of them at the same time. Professor Goodwitch had her arms crossed and the strange man merely drank another sip of his flask.

It was Blake's turn to speak. "Yes Professor we have. We were going to do some more research but-"

Ozpin finished her train of thought before she could. He knew exactly what had driven them here. A certain arena duel between Jaune Arc and Yang Xiao-Long that had put both of them in the infirmary. "But your friends were hurt. I understand completely." Blake looked incredibly relieved.

"Besides, I would very much like to learn more about this Diavolo fellow myself." Blake and Ren snapped their eyes together and then back at their Headmaster with a shocked look on their faces. Their prior suspicions had just been confirmed. A wave of relief came over them and Blake even broke a smile. It would be much easier explaining things when Professor Ozpin had a base to work off. Ozpin himself looked quite pleased with himself that he had got such a silly reaction from them. He sipped from his mug and then motioned for them to speak to him.

So they told him everything they knew. About the Passione School of Heroes the man named Diavolo once attended. About his mysterious semblance King Crimson and his thesis paper on Aura Transfer. They spoke about their theory on what he had done, forcing his aura into the Arc family. Ren discussed as much as he could about Diavolo's school life while Blake recounted how the Arc family seemed to have a different semblance before their marriage into the Una family.

"And at the very end of his papers, I think there was a rough translation discussing… the Maidens. Sir" Ren finished, sticking to his guns and showing Ozpin the utmost of formality. That had brought the attention of Qrow and Goodwitch to its fullest.

Ozpin kept his hands interlocked on his desk as the two students finished detailing everything they'd learned. He had to admit, they had done more research than even his group had. For that he was grateful. "Very intriguing, Ms. Belladonna, Mr. Ren."

"We're not sure why he was talking about to Maidens. Even in his time, people regarded it as a fairytale. Why would someone that seemed like a scientist believe in such things" Blake asked Ozpin with intense amber eyes that needed answers.

Ozpin took a deep breath. _I suppose I have no other choice_ he thought. Three students would learn of reality today, it seemed. "Glynda, please go and bring Ms. Nikos here. I would very much like her to hear this as well." The professor looked as if she was going to protest but one stern look from the Headmaster stopped her. She marched off to fetch Pyrrha from wherever she was.

"Oz…" It was Qrow who spoke up, surprising the two youths. His voice was gravelly and even from where they sat they could smell the stench of alcohol, vomit and sweat that lingered about him. All in all, it was quite disgusting. "Are you sure about this?"

Blake and Ren looked utterly confused. What did the Headmaster want with Pyrrha? What did the mysterious man mean? What was going on?!

Ren looked like he was about to speak but was cut off by a hand raise from Ozpin. That kept the two silent until Pyrrha arrived. The red haired champion looked nervous but then turned confused when she saw one of her teammates and one of her friends here as well. "Ren? Blake?"

The two waved meekly at her and then turned back to the Headmaster as Pyrrha took her own seat. "I'm sorry for calling you on such short notice, Ms. Nikos. With the Vytal Tournament coming up so soon and the need to practice with your team."

Pyrrha sadly shook her head. She knew what training with her team would be. Just the NPR. Not the J. Jaune had Diavolo to teach him. The mere thought of that name filled her with anger and sadness. At herself. At Diavolo. But never towards Jaune. Sweet Jaune. Her blond knight.

"It's… alright, sir. I don't think we can practice together… anymore.."

Ozpin gaze her a sympathetic look. Even among the professors her deep feelings for the boy were known. Everyone knew how the two felt for one another, but by the Brother Gods were they so oblivious. "Mmm. I'm afraid I understand. Mr. Ren. Ms. Belladonna. Before we continue, I would like to bring Ms. Nikos up to speed with our mutual problem. Diavolo."

Blake had wanted answers to the mystery that seemed to keep growing with Ozpin, but it appeared she would have to wait. Like before, the two retold everything they learned to Pyrrha. She listened intently like her life depended on it. Her heart certainly did.

"I.. I'm not sure what to say" the champion finally said after a period of silence. Her black haired teammate put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but even then she felt horrible. An hour ago, she would have called something like aura transfer a wild fantasy. But now?

Her mind wandered until something clicked. A fire in her erupted. She was going to save Jaune. She would save Jaune. There were about two weeks before the Vytal Tournament. Two weeks was all she had to make Jaune realize the truth. To make him aware of his condition, his possession by this Diavolo. Her hand tightened into a fist as she swore silently on her life to free him. She'd get all of RWBY and NPR involved too if she had to.

"Professor?"

The voice of Blake broke her out of her hyper focused thoughts. Pyrrha looked back up at her surroundings with her green hues. A computer screen was turned towards them from Ozpin's desk, a face that could only belong to the Headmaster of Atlas Academy was transmitting on it. He had a frown on his face. "I'm a day away from Beacon. Why are there three of them?"

Ozpin looked at his friend and then back to the confused youths. "I'm afraid things have changed, James. We're going to speed things up apparently" the voice of Professor Goodwitch spoke up from beside Ozpin's desk. Qrow only looked annoyed and defeated. His flask hovered by his lips as he gazed outside.

After a silence that felt like an eon, Ozpin took a deep breath and spoke up. "Tell me. What is your favorite fairy-tale?"

* * *

Jaune woke up with an aching feeling in his head. While he certainly had felt worse before, the irritable thumping he felt was quite bad this time. His whole body felt exhausted despite knowing he hasn't exerted it that hard. It took a little while for his blue eyes to adjust to his surroundings and when they did he took the time to establish where he was.

A quick scan of the room told him he was in the school infirmary. Big walls with white and grey dominated palate of the room. Brown cabinets and chairs lined the walls of the room. A few nurses walked around him, most likely moving to more serious patients than he.

He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes before looking around. While he certainly felt awful, he suspected there were no serious injuries to keep him in the infirmary. So he looked around for a doctor to talk about getting him discharged from the sick bed and back to his dorm. What he did see however, filled him with guilt and regret.

Laying near him was Yang, her body connected to an I.V and aura boosters. He didn't doubt she'd make a full recovery in time to fight in the tournament, but the very fact _he_ had done something like that to her…

It made him feel sick. Worse than any of the pain he was experiencing physically. Seeing Yang like that… Seeing Pyrrha's face turn away…

What was his newly discovered power doing to his friends? And why did they end up hurt it pushed away. Everyone but Ruby thought he was crazy and Jaune thought the girl would hate his guts after what he did. It was a miserable though. _I'd deserve it._

He wasn't the victim here. It was Yang who was hurt and he who did it. Jaune didn't deserve to feel bad about himself when he had done something like that. Then he heard a scroll. Bringing a hand to his ear to see if his Bluetooth headset was in, he found nothing much to his disappointment. "Dodorururururdoru" Jaune chirped out. _What a terrible time to call me Diavolo!_

"Doooodorurururu!"

A doctor came into the room to find the blond knight holding an empty I.V bag to his ear in the corner of the room. "Hello?" he heard the boy say. The doctor, Doctor Monica Ultello, slowly stepped up behind him. She had no intention of startling the patient.

"Mr. Arc?..." she queried softly behind him, a hand placed on his shoulder. Jaune was still taking into the bag and when he finally set it down, he turned to the doctor with a smile.

"Sorry!" he eked out as he jumped back onto his bed with a fright. "I didn't mean to take so long with my call!"

The boy had a goofy smile plastered over his face, one that didn't sit right with her given how he and the girl in the other bed ended up in the infirmary. Regardless, she had a job to do. The doctor pulled up a clipboard with paper on it and handed it to the knight. "These are your discharge papers Mr. Arc. Please make sure to take care of yourself next time." Jaune looked downtrodden in an instant. His goofy smile dissipated at her words. Rising up from his bed the boy began to walk towards the exit before turning back to the doctor.

"Is Yang going to be ok?" he asked with despair in his voice. The boy seemed genuinely concerned for the girl he had ended up hurting. The doctor nodded her affirmation, soothing his fears just a little bit. Nodding back to her, he left the infirmary and made his way back to the JNPR dorms. His hands floated down to his pockets, thumbing the edges of his jackets as he walked. A long, drawn out sigh flew from his lips.

When he made it back to the dorms and unlocked it with his scroll, he looked around to find one person in the room.

His partner.

The red-haired amazon turned her head at the sound of the door opening to find him. Her eyes widened at his presence. Her green eyes then looked anywhere else than his. That hurt more than anything the Grimm could throw at him. "Pyr?" the boy whimpered slightly. Jaune strode over towards his partner. Her seated position on her bed did not move as he came closer. Jaune felt his heart beat faster and faster. _She hates me. They all hate me now… But they fear me. They fear me and they don't think I'm weak..._

Pyrrha looked up at him and he turned away in an instant. His eyes were going anywhere else but towards her. Both their hearts ached at the moment. Neither could commit to fully gazing at the other. His throat felt dry as he opened his mouth to speak. He found no words were able to come forth. Pyrrha ended their silence with words that broke him.

"Jaune, are you okay?"

_Am I okay? _

She should have been asking about Yang. About how Ruby was holding up. Anything else. But she asked about him. In a kind, caring voice.

He didn't deserve it.

_I saw their fear and I felt good. _

Pyrrha rose from her seated position on her bed but Jaune was already gone. A second of time had been erased and he was gone.

Pyrrha knew exactly where to find him.

* * *

**Two weeks before the Vytal Tournament**

The stress on the champion's shoulders was vast, to say the least. Just earlier today she was exposed to a reality that she never knew existed. A world of magic and Maidens that had previously only appeared in myth. She, alongside Ren and Blake, had seen for themselves the body of Amber in her stasis unit. They had seen the other unit meant for aura transfer, something the Professors were more sure of thanks to the research provided by a hundred year old long dead scientist named Diavolo.

_Except he's not dead. His soul, his aura exists in Jaune…_

Ren and Blake has detailed everything to her too. About Diavolo and Jaune and his Semblance. Together they had formulated a plan, a plan to wake Jaune up to the reality of the situation.

But that wasn't important right now. Right now, she needed to talk to Jaune. And then she needed to think. To think about a choice.

To become the Fall Maiden or not?

Ozpin had told them that there was someone who had tried to kill the current Maiden and seize her power but had failed. They feared that if Amber died now, her final thoughts before her soul was released would be of her killer. That was not a risk they could take. The papers Ren had found belonging to Diavolo also detailed his desire to acquire the Maidens power. And with Jaune inadvertently aiding Diavolo, who knew what damage he could bring if he seized the power with his aura transfer knowledge.

_Is it my destiny to become the Fall Maiden? _She thought sadly as she climbed the steps up towards the rooftops. Her hands slightly opened the door to peer in. Her emerald eyes saw Jaune's long blond locks first, before he snapped his head towards her. His legs were dangling off the edge of the roof, idly kicking up and down.

_Epitaph. I forgot…_

She foolishly forgot the fact Jaune could in fact see future events without fail. Without waiting longer she pushed the door the rest of the way and began walking to Jaune, who had stood up to face her now.

"Jaune I-"

Jaune lifted a hand to cut her off. He didn't want to hear her voice… to hear that pity all over again, no matter how much his heart cried out in anguish to let her. He would _never _be weak again. He couldn't be pitied any longer. "I know Pyrrha. I know. You want to know what's wrong…"

His fists tightened as his aura glowered crimson. "I've been thinking. And talking. I know.. I know what I did to Yang was wrong but…"

The crimson redness faded away as the goofball Pyrrha loved returned slightly. "I know this sounds terrible but…. I felt… good, you know?"

If the Amazon was shocked she didn't show it. In fact she know that feeling all too well. Winning felt _good._ Being powerful felt good. She'd probably done worse than Jaune ever did to Yang back when she was younger and first started out. When she first was becoming the molded champion and climbing up the pedestal. When you feel weak all your life and suddenly you have a surge of power in your life…

She knew how good that felt….

So she couldn't blame Jaune in a way.

But she knew better than that. Pyrrha know perfectly well that Diavolo was twisting Jaune inside out. Playing up his fears and insecurities. Giving him a taste of power.

_Fight it Jaune! Fight him!_ she wanted to scream at him.

"And… when I looked to the other students… you know what I saw?... I didn't see pity Pyrrha… I saw.. fear… and I liked it…"

Pyrrha has stopped walking unconsciously, a few feet away from Jaune. She sought to resume her way towards him but she felt uneasy at the sight of his smile. "Diavolo's been talking with me. Up here. We train here as well. He tells me that no one will ever pity me anymore. Remember how much I hate how everyone gives me their damn useless pity?"

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "I remember Jaune. We- I, don't pity you Jaune-" she began to say as she closed the gap between them, heart beating heavy. One hand grasped another, blond and red uniting. Her breath hitched.

"- And we love you just the way you are… We don't need to fear you Jaune! It's ok to feel like that when you first discover such a powerful semblance, but we don't think you're weak with or without it. We are your-"

"Friends?" He finished for her. Epitaph had shown him what she'd say. It seemed his own Semblance was the only reliable person around him these days. She felt his once firm grip on her hand loosened and fell to his side again. "All my friends think I'm crazy, Pyr. Even… even you…"

His face fella downwards, and he looked away. "Jaune?" Pyrrha questioned softly, body tense and waiting for his response. She hated this. She hated Diavolo. She hated that they were back to square one in their relationship, just like the night Jaune revealed he faked his transcripts. All of this was Diavolo's doing. She was immediately going to Ren and Blake to prepare their plan.

"Well I'm tired of that. You did your best to make me stronger and it didn't work! Diavolo has taught me how to be strong and not weak! No one will ever pity me again. I hate being useless! I hate useless things! I'll be at the top. The everlasting top, like he says."

Pyrrha moved a hand up to his shoulder but Jaune pulled back away from her. She was losing him. Losing him faster than she thought.

_Please Jaune. Please. Listen to yourself! This isn't you! Where is the sweet, kind and loyal boy I love?_

"Jaune, we care about you regardless of anything! We-"

Jaune raised a finger up towards her face with an accusing look. His aura burned crimson and she saw the flashing presence of his Semblance floating behind him. _Is he going to skip? Is he going to use his Semblance now?... against me?..._

Nothing of the sort happened, but Jaune was still incredibly upset. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't crazy!

Crazy was weak.

Sane was strong.

He could not afford to be mentally ill. So he knew he wasn't. "I'm not crazy! I have no mental problems like you all think I do!" he shouted for once at Pyrrha, sending emotional pain down her entire body. His finger remained pointing, an angry weapon aimed straight at her heart, metaphorically.

"I'm not crazy because I'm not weak!"

Pyrrha's eyes felt watery. _He thinks… he thinks that if he admits he has a mental issue, he'd be weak? Oh Jaune. My sweet Jaune.. My knight…_

She knew now he had no mental illness. No madness in his mind. It was merely the manipulating whispers of an evil man who cursed an entire lineage with his soul. With his power. His gift and his curse. All for the quest for those Maiden powers. _It must be why he's still around. To find them. To acquire them._

She knew she had to stop him. For more than just Jaune's sake now. For destinies sake.

"You're not crazy Jaune, it's just… it's complicated…" she tried to broach it calmly. She could not try and explain it with words. Diavolo wouldn't allow it. They'd have to prove it to him with his own eyes. That was the only way.

"Just what, Pyr? What's so complicated about me finally having something go my way! I've got the most powerful semblance known to man! Did you know that I'll be able to skip time for ten seconds someday? All without straining myself! No. I didn't think you did."

He turned around and looked away from her, gazing or from his spot on the rooftop. His arms crossed one another in frustration as long, beautiful, blonde locks of hair dances in front of her eyes. For a moment she was captivated by them, but then regained focus.

"Diavolo told me you know. He told me you'd be jealous. That's what this is, isn't it? You're jealous that I'm the number one now? That you're off the top of the pedestal?"

His voice was frantic, paranoid and filled with the vile words of Diavolo Una in his soul. "No Jaune, I'm not jealous of you, I want to help you! We want to help you!" She was exasperated, the roll on her spirit and heart becoming too much. She couldn't handle it. She couldn't bear to see him like this, this broken shell of a knight. Her knight.

"I don't need your help!" Jaune screamed in explosive anger, his aura burning bright. "I don't need anyone's help anymore! What happened to Yang was a mistake but I want more of what I saw! I want to be Jaune Arc, the one they fear! The one at the top! Not Jaune Arc, the one who makes the Invincible Girl look so much better!"

Jaune spat the words out with bitterness before realizing what he had said. His eyes seemed to soften and widen. His head hurt so much. The exhaustion of skipping time for so long earlier was still affecting him. It must have been. That was the only explanation…

"Pyrrha?" His voice was weak this time. Much to his suffering, no reply was given. Only the sound of boots walking away. **See? Everything I said was true. Everything! She is jealous! Jealous they fear you now! My sweet, cute, Jaune…**

Jaune felt empty. What was the cost of power. The cost of being on the pedestal. Driving away his friends? The woman he loved? All for the love of the fear he instilled in others?

**Do not become distracted! She fears you! They all fear you…. Relish in it...**

She was already leaving the rooftop. Diavolo wouldn't let her try and talk with Jaune anymore. If that devil wanted to fight with fire, she'd fight back with fire too. This meant war.

And she was going to win. She would save Jaune.

The champion made a quick scroll text to Ren and Blake.

They were going to finish this.

* * *

**Around two in the morning, Monday, two weeks to the Vytal Tournament**

Night meant many different things to the students of Beacon Academy. To some it meant the sweet release of sleep after a long and busy day. To others it was the perfect time to stay up for some relaxation, or for the more studious kinds, late night studying.

Whatever students did during the night, one thing has become certain over the past few days. Staying out of your dorm from two to three in the morning was decidedly unsafe. Something was prowling the hallways of Beacon. Something nobody wanted to be seen by or get in its way.

If you were exceptionally lucky, you would have found your way back into your dorm without running into him. If you were exceptionally unlucky, you would be praying to whatever god you believe in that he wouldn't take notice if you.

King Crimson prowled in the darkness. His steps were methodical, eerie. Each with a purpose in mind. Some students knew what he was, though most didn't, specifically upperclassmen who paid little attention to first year students in the past. Those that were unlucky enough to have seen him talked about its singular purpose. It's terrifyingly angry face and how in one moment it was there but was gone in the next.

This had been a pattern for the past few mornings.

For King Crimson however, it was his own frustrating story.

For the third morning in a row he was being denied any lead on the Maidens power. Everything had been going so well for him, until now. Diavolo walked behind his Semblance, a silhouetted figure that was only outlined by the fierce redness of his aura. **Ozma you bastard. Where? How do you keep such power hidden away so easily? I am Diavolo! I should have found the Maiden already! **

His mind raged with anger as he kept walking past dorm room after dorm room. The once great gang boss and scientist was searching every single place in the academy, starting with the dorms and their rooms. The limitations on the control of his body was certainly becoming a roadblock. Jaune Arc's will was beyond anything he had ever seen in an Arc. The only time he had full control of the boys body was if he was unconscious, leaving him only the twilight hours to operate. **I have done all I can! I have driven his friends away! I have made him become dependent on me! What else does it take? **

His father was so much easier to manipulate. It had let him take over his body whenever he wanted. But with Jaune? If the boy was awake, then there would be little hope of taking over.

Shaking his frustrations away, he stopped in front of another dorm room and prepared to search inside. One of the benefits at least was that he could use his own power without exhaustion. He took the small victory.

"**King Crimson"** he voiced in a slow and methodical tone. It was deep and carried a soft but forceful tune.

Time erased for three seconds. The moment he entered the room was blown away, leaving only the results. The result of him standing in the dorm room. Four beds of equal length from one another were occupied by four students. From a quick glance he saw that there was at least one Faunus among them, a rabbit eared girl he recalled as Velvet.

**Team CFVY** he surmised. He had work to do. A room to search. King Crimson began walking past each bed, angry eyes going over the contents of their desks and cabinets. While he tried his best to be quiet, sometimes he failed. The red glow produced by his aura didn't help either.

But thankfully, Epitaph would predict anything that might interfere. Such as now. The quick premonition showed him a waking girl, the one called Coco. With irritation, he activated his Semblance again, skipping over the moment he was seen. Diavolo simply sighed outside of the dorm room. There was nothing for him there, so he began walking once more.

His anger was redirected towards Ozma and Salem. The bastard wizard who saw his criminal empire destroyed hundreds of years ago. Diavolo had no doubt that Giorno Arc was part of the wizards eternal war with the Queen of the Grimm. As for her…

**When I get the Maidens Requiem…. She will be the first to know…**

While it was Giorno Arc who had destroyed his life, it was Salem that took it. His last desperate effort to cling to life was his arrow. The aura transfer arrow. His salvation then and his salvation now. Long ago his son pierced himself with the arrow and gave Diavolo a method of secret control over the Arc-Una's, it would now be used to take the Maiden's power for himself as he always intended to. The arrow was snugly kept on him at all times, waiting to take the aura and then inject it into his own.

He licked his lips at the thought. He would climb to his everlasting climax. As he once had before. He would destroy both Ozma and Salem and become the true king of kings! He was Diavolo! Fate had chosen him to be its master! He was the only one worthy of the Maidens power, of its requiem. Step by step he continued his march. Rooms he had already searched were barely registered in his mind as he passed them. Finally he found a new one, belonging to a team of Haven students that had come for the Vytal Tournament. Once again he skipped his way inside. Within the dorm room was a spartan sleeping quarter. It was bare bones in terms of amenities or even the personalized touch of a student, unlike all the prior dorms. Even the beds seemed incredibly minimalistic, and this was coming from the man that studied in a school some hundreds of years ago. Some students simply had no sense of imagination.

As per usual, Diavolo looked around for any sign of hidden rooms, levers, anything that might be a hiding spot for a Maiden. Back when he was at the top of his mob in the now defunct city state of Italia, he would have used secret houses and hidden rooms for such things.

King Crimson's green scleras looked at each bed. The closest student had dark skin and green hair while the one above her had some of the blackest hair he'd ever seen. **I know her. She was in the arena a few days ago… Cinder… Cinder something. **Diavolo shook his head. Now wasn't the time to wonder about the names of irrelevant students. There was nothing to find in here but a few notebooks and a scroll… with an odd symbol on it. Atlesian? No…

Diavolo made a mental note about this Cinder woman and her team. He'd keep an eye on them. Maybe they weren't so irrelevant after all. He'd be a fool to think that he was the only one in the world after the Maidens powers.

With another skip he was back outside and continued walking. There were plenty of hours left before Jaune would wake up and consign Diavolo to merely being a mostly passive observer.

King Crimson snapped its head towards the end of the hallway, where the wall cornered and continued on towards the right. Something had moved there. There had been the softest of sounds but he heard it. Epitaph hadn't shown him anything yet. It was only a matter of time. He'd see their future actions and he'd make them disappear if they got in the way. Diavolo began to move closer to the corner of the wall.

Blake was really, really regretting being involved in all of this. Here she was up at two thirty in the morning with a scroll in hand, trying to catch a video of what could very well be the most terrifying Semblance in the world, being wielded by the soul of a hundred year old mob boss scientist that was controlling the body of her friend who was probably searching for the Fall Maiden which was underneath Beacon currently being held in a stasis pod waiting for the decision of her OTHER friend, in order to see if she would transfer the Maiden powers to her.

All in all, not something she really wanted to be doing. She had a nice new book to read! Ninja's of Love 4! Special edition! How she wished she was reading it. Anything but this.

_We went over this. This is part of the plan. Just draw him in…_

It was simple enough in theory. From what they had researched, Diavolo could only use Epitaph to only the immediate future, and in very focused ways. He'd be able to predict one scroll trying to catch a video of him, but three? Much harder.

At least, in theory. They had no idea if it would work in reality. They didn't even really know how King Crimson worked. Only Ren had some sort of idea but even them, he was still working on it. All they knew was that he could see the future and then skip time. Whatever that meant.

As per part of the plan, Blake slowly moved her scroll from around the corner she was flat against. She could see the video was recording thanks to her faunus night vision. A bead of sweat dropped down her forehead as she strained to see King Crimson in the frame. For a moment she saw the red aura flare down the hallway. It was a truly terrifying sight. A Semblance with a shadowy figure behind it. Jaune, but not truly. His body but not his soul. A shiver went down her spine as she waited. _Come on, take the bait… Take the bait…_

She looked to her side out of habit. Time spent in the White Fang taught her always to watch her back. Her arm felt lighter. Like the scroll was gone. When she turned her head, she saw that it was gone. Destroyed, actually. On the ground lay the broken pieces of her scroll. If she wasn't so terrified she might have jumped with joy that he _had_ fallen for the bait. Any moment now, Pyrrha or Ren would have enough video to complete phase one of their plan to reveal Diavolo to Jaune!

The angry face of King Crimson was peering past the corner she was against. Her heart was thumping in her chest, her face was illuminated by the crimson aura before her. She had seen what Jaune was capable under his indirect influence. What would Diavolo do to her if she were caught? Thought she seemed in the clear for now. King Crimson's head turned to the right away from Blake. _He'll look left next. I need to go. I need to run. I need to-_

"Hello? Who's there? You're far beyond curfew hours!" A voice rang out from behind Diavolo's Semblance. It was Professor Port! _What's he doing up so late?_ She thought, but then remembered she too was up at an ungodly hour. This was the chance she needed. As King Crimson snapped his head around and most likely skipped time, she jumped back and ran as fast as her legs could take her. She ran until she reached the intersection between the RWBY and JNPR dorm rooms. Thankfully Blake had let her teammates know she was going to be up this hour, at least, so the door would be unlocked.

Blake waited for a few minutes until she finally saw Ren and Pyrrha appear from the darkness. Her eyes had seen them before they had seen her. Faunus perks, after all. Her ears rose in relief when they came back safely. "Did you get it?" she nearly jumped on them when they came. A clear smile on their faces told her all she needed to know.

With a quick flick of her wrist, Pyrrha showed Ren and Blake a clear video recording of Diavolo with King Crimson walking and then briefly skipping time, despite being silhouetted. There was no doubt that Jaune Arc's Semblance was operating seemingly by itself, or being used by someone else. But that would be impossible. It was one strong piece of evidence to use and convince Jaune about the truth behind Diavolo.

Despite all of them being tired and scared out of their minds, they all grinned with ubiquitous joy. Together they had won their first victory against Diavolo. The second part of their plan would begin very soon.

Capture evidence of Jaune calling Diavolo, with clear evidence that he was _not_ speaking through a scroll, but with himself.

When that was done they'd show it to him and make their best case to convince Jaune. _And that… that will be the hardest part_.

To be Continued…

**A/N: Howdy y'all. A little late to post but it's here! The story continues to ramp up as Pyrrha prepares her final confrontation with Diavolo and Jaune! And I made myself a poorly made cover image! Not the best but it'll suffice for now. **

**Lots of stuff happened this chapter, King Crimson finally showing his powers off to Jaune, and Diavolo manipulating Jaune into being a person he's not, Diavolo's motives along with a big reveal for Ren, Blake and Pyrrha. The plot beats for the first half of this story are coming to a head soon. **

**As for the Vytal Festival, you will be seeing more fights! What's the fun of King Crimson without being able to use it in a fight? **

**Last chapter someone asked what inconsistencies I had with King Crimson and I'll elaborate now. The few inconsistent moments I noticed in the manga and anime were 1.) Diavolo removing Trish's hand in the elevator. 2.) Diavolo having Aerosmith's bullets go through him in the fight with Risotto, but having to move out of the way in other fights. **

**Those are probably the only major inconsistencies I found with King Crimson. **

**Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are excited for the next one. Please tell me what you think in the reviews!**


	7. The Mystery of King Crimson, Part 3

**One week to the Vytal Tournament**

When Diavolo told Jaune Arc that he would be at the everlasting top position, he didn't think it would necessitate another hairstyle change. The long hair that he has finally gotten used to by now was changed again on Diavolo's orders. What was once flowing blond locks was now a neck-length ponytail by a weave-like braid; the front of his hair was now left loose and swept over to one side. In fact, he looked a lot like his father Doppio when he was back at Beacon.

His new pants were loose with studs covering his ankles and thighs. Underneath his Pumpkin Pete hoodie was a black mesh shirt that Diavolo was very specific about him buying.

All in all, new style for the student on top of the world.

Not that Jaune felt very good about it. Well, not entirely true. But not entirely false. He wouldn't lie and say it didn't make him giddy to think that he was the best fighter in the school. His Semblance was so powerful that it seemed to make people forget how behind he was in actual fighting skills. And the fear…

Diavolo encouraged him to relish it. To let the fear of him be a delicious honey to consume. And at first it was….

Until he found himself on a very lonely pedestal. And all of a sudden, everything Pyrrha has told him about being the best felt very very real. Students rarely approached him outside of very specific reasons. Something he never expected to ever happen started happening too. News broadcasters that had come for the tournament all wanted interviews with him! Him! Turns out his Semblance was making headlines, and he felt nervous in front of every one of them. On the other hand, many of his peers began to resent him.

As Jaune trained with King Crimson, the unintended side effects of erasing time were many pissed off students. The interference in their lives was felt day after day when they ended up in one place or doing another thing with no memory of how they did it or why.

Some resented his power too. The fact that he of all people was stronger than them now. It was enough to make some people his enemies. Though the first attempt to bully him was met by a rather embarrassing time skip for the person responsible.

And finally…. His friends… his team….

Things hadn't been the best ever since the incident with Yang. His team seemed distant at best and Team RWBY? Well they weren't hostile, but it wasn't even close to being a relationship anymore. Diavolo said they were jealous. Diavolo said that they all used him to look better. Especially Pyrrha.

That may have been so, but Jaune missed them. As much as Diavolo told him to let them go, he wanted them back in his life. Especially Pyrrha. How could he just stop loving her?

It was impossible.

Jaune was at the top, but he didn't feel like he wanted to stay here. Regardless of what Diavolo said.

The knight sighed as he walked down the hallway towards Professor Port's class. Like before, he'd been told to apply his Semblance in everyday life, to get a grasp of it. So it would be completely natural to erase time. With a soft little "King Crimson", Jaune saw the world break apart as people around him moved as fate deemed them. And then, it was over. Time resumed and everyone found themselves in the places they would have been had three seconds of time passed.

Immediately, a few students in Port's class glared at Jaune with hate in their eyes. The boy meekly sat down at this seat, now away from his teammates and friends. The flaring semblance of King Crimson drove away any other angry glares.

The class itself was the same as before, though Jaune felt even lonelier, something that had become commonplace. He sighed as he took a note here and there from Port. The lecture was far less interesting than the red haired amazon who sat by an empty seat across the classroom. The entire class was consumed by his thoughts, his gaze on that one, singular beauty that kept the last of him from Diavolo. But this was the price of strength? Of fear? That's what Diavolo seemed to keep telling him.

What was an hour long lecture was felt like ten minutes. It seemed boring classes skipped time faster than his own semblance. He felt Epitaph trigger and his hair showed him the future. Within the next ten seconds he'd run into… Pyrrha. And Ruby. And all of them.

With one long sigh he rose from his seat with his things and erased time once again. He didn't have it in him to speak to Pyrrha. So he didn't risk it. He skipped past the moment they'd interact, leaving behind confused teammates and friends in his stead.

Jaune spent much of his time outside of class in a training room now. Without any of his friends he had little else to do. Besides, mastering his Semblance couldn't truly come from everyday use. He needed to practice with it as much as he could.

Several things were revealed to him from his training with Diavolo. He was unable to fully erase time for ten seconds, being limited to three for now with potential to grow, so long as he kept at it. Using it for any longer would be mentally taxing, Diavolo claimed. Jayne had felt it for himself after his duel with Yang too. So he kept to three. Next, he was told that unless he was fated to do so, he'd be unable to attack during erased time. Though Diavolo also claimed he could manipulate things, like the eyesight of his target, to cease their movements.

In the training room, he stood in a loose stance with Crocea Mors in one hand, his shield in the other. While his Semblance was powerful, he'd still have to do the fighting himself. So he would train with both.

A trio of training bots came at him, their sleek white and black finish cried out their Atlesian origin. General Ironwood had brought newer models when he arrived earlier in the week, along with his fleet of ships. The regular ones would suffice for now. One of the machines came towards him with a hand-rifle, and prepared to fire as the other readied its fist for a Yang-like strike. The third one, which was down the center, made no offensive moves yet.

Jaune activates Epitaph to see the future, his hair billowing up its own to show him. Within the ten seconds of precognition, Jaune saw the third robot lunge forward with a spear that would hit him dead on, as the other two robots made no attacks. _A trick! _he realized as the events he saw began to play out.

When the third bot threw itself forward with its spear in hand, Jaune activated King Crimson. The bot carried out its fated actions in the world of erased time. When time resumed, it had moved behind Jaune without ever realizing it had attacked. The machine, unaware or perhaps confused, continued its attack until it crashed into the wall. _Other two!_

Jaune blocked the heavy white fist of the melee bot with his shield as he triggered Epitaph. A quick vision showed him that the rifle bearing machine would unload a hail of bullets into his back. But all he needed was three seconds. He broke off from the machine he had blocked, using his sword to cleave a single one of its arms off, he triggered his Semblance again.

Jaune felt a sense of satisfaction as within the three seconds of erased time, he saw the red afterglow of the bullets, their forecasted pathways, slamming into the one-armed Atlesian mech. The moment the bullets would have hit Jaune were erased, leaving only the results of the bullets hitting the other robot.

With a digital groan the bullet filled robot shut down. Jaune took this time to move in for a killing strike on the gun wielder. He was met with the butt of a rifle in the stomach. Falling to one knee he gasped for air._Ok! Ok! Need to keep my shield up._ Unwilling to rely solely on his Semblance, Jaune heaved and lunged up with his sword, using his kneeling position as a thrusting pad. The sword sliced through steel plating and wires. The blades tip busted out of the back of the machines shoulder. It sputtered out a dying breath of sparks before falling over while Jaune ripped his blade out.

He was panting heavily, but felt pleased with himself. He was getting better at fighting in tandem with his Semblance. Jaune felt excitement each time he managed to push himself another few milliseconds closer to four seconds of erased time.

**My cute, sweet little Jaune. How far you have come! Continue your training and you will maintain the everlasting climax** he heard Diavolo speak through his 'earpiece'

While his mind wandered, he didn't hear the sound of the door to the training room open and shut with a mechanical hiss. It took a little while for him to notice the fact the red-cloaked leader of Team RWBY was practically standing behind him. "Hey Jaune" she piped up. This caused the blond haired knight to promptly leap into the air with a "GAH!"

Despite all that had been occurring for the past few weeks, despite what he had done to Yang, Ruby found herself laughing at the sight of her fellow socially awkward dork jumping back in surprise at her presence. It reminded her of how things were before.

Before Diavolo. Before King Crimson.

Before she had lost him.

Jaune recovered himself as swiftly as he could, stretching his back slightly to try and play it off as nothing. Causing Ruby to only giggle harder. Jaune immediately broke his facade and rubbed his neck. This felt awkward. He knew that Ruby would be mad at him… or least he felt she should be. "Uh. Hey Ruby? What's ah, up?"

_Great one, Jaune_

Ruby fiddled with her feet for a moment as the two simply looked anywhere else. Ruby internally chided herself for messing this up so badly! She knew she was awkward, but this awkward?!

"I came to the training room for some… training. Yea. That's what we do here."

_Nailed it _the girl thought.

"Ooook" Jaune nervously said, still confused and a little worried about what Ruby was doing here. There were plenty of other training rooms for her to use. No, the reason she came to this room was to speak to him. That was for certain. But about what?

"I uh, also wanted to talk about what happened. During the duel. We never really… talked about it."

Jaune felt himself go whiter than Weiss's hair. He was doomed! The final nail in the coffin between him and Team RWBY! All his friends, gone! Just like that!

"I guess so" was all he managed to say.

Ruby decided she'd have to take the initiative here. To show him she wasn't mad. At least not anymore. "I guess we could start with uh, why?"

Jaune considered his options. What could he say to her? How could he say it? He felt so guilty about it yet he loved the power it gave him! The rush was simply so intoxicating. The feeling of finally being recognized as strong. Someone worthy of holding the name Arc. He considered lying to her. To tell her it was just an accident. That he felt nothing but shame about it.

But one look at her crushed that. He could not lie to her. No matter what Diavolo might say.

**She's simply trying to drag you down from the top. From your pedestal of greatness! Her position as combat prodigy has been risked with your ascension! That is all she cares about!**

_No. She's my friend. My first friend at Beacon. My best friend. I won't let you take her from me. _

He slumped his shoulders and began walking towards the student bleachers. They were set up in the case teammates or simple passerby's wanted to watch training sessions. For now they were being used to seat two emotionally vulnerable teens. Ruby followed him silently and sat next to him. His sword and shield slumped down to the side, leaning against the bleachers. Ruby held a small hand on his knee.

"To be totally honest. I felt… guilty but at the same time…. I felt good." The words all came out in one breath. His eyes looked up to see her reaction and he could make out just barely the look of hurt on her face. "I knew what I did was wrong but… when I saw your faces and how scared you all were. I… I liked it. Gods it feels terrible to say but I felt good! I felt strong! Even now I feel the guilt, of how you must feel and how mad you must be at me ... but the power feels good. I'm… I'm sorry Ruby. I know what I did was wrong and what I feel should be wrong too and-"

"Jaune-"

"And I really wish you were still my frie-"

"JAUNE!" The little girl shouted, though it was still like a squeak coming from her. She brushed a strand of red and black hair to the side and pulled his eyes back to look into hers by his chin. "I'm not mad at you. Not anymore. I know what you're going through. And I'm still here aren't I? We're socially awkward besties. For life." She flashed him a bright smile. "The guilt you feel means that you're a good guy. In here" she jabbed over her heart with her thumb for emphasis. "Where it counts."

Jaune sat speechless. He expected that she would hate him. That she would be furious. Ready to tear him a new one. But she was ... understanding? To a degree at least. She revealed she had been mad but… had forgiven him?

Diavolo had told him they'd never forgive him. But they did. _Because that's what friends do…_

Jaune couldn't look at her without shame. His eyes darted away but Ruby forced them back on her. "We all really miss you. We're your friends." Her smile was infectious, causing his lips to break open into one as well. She always had that power, along with her incredible combat skills.

Jaune responses the only way he could, by pulling her into one big hug that rivaled Nora in terms of strength. "Eeeegaaah!" She wheezed out before returning the hug.

Of course, with Jaune distracted and in the prime position, Ruby struck. As she hugged her bestie, her hand slid up to his ear and gently pulled out the ear plug Jaune had deluded himself into thinking was some sort of Bluetooth headset. Ruby didn't like deceiving Jaune, though her words and actions were genuine, her motives were to get that little ear plug. She'd make it up to him after. They were best friends after all. Team RWBY had thrown its weight behind Team JNPR to help save Jaune from the weird guy in his head.

"Rubes. You're the best" he finally said.

She chuckled and slid the ear plug into her back pocket without him ever noticing.

"Yea. I am!"

The pair laughed together for the first time in weeks. All the while Diavolo fumed within Jaune, outraged at Ruby Rose's interference with his manipulations.

He'd have to make her disappear too, it seemed.

* * *

**Half a week to the Vytal Tournament, Wednesday morning, 2:20 AM.**

Diavolo walked down the narrow hallway as he always did, finishing up his last sweeps of Beacon's dormitories. His next target was the CCT Tower itself. Ozma wouldn't be able to hide the Maidens power forever. He'd destroy him. He'd destroy _her_. That was what fate chose him for.

As usual, Diavolo found little information in the sleeping quarters of teenage brats. All except one. That team from Haven. The one with that Cinder girl on it.

Except, he didn't think she just a girl. No, she was certainly older. The others, the ones called Emerald and Mercury, were definitely young, but Cinder? No, she was like him. She was definitely after the Maidens powers as well. He was tempted to erase her and all her companions a few nights ago, but he overheard a conversation from them that changed his mind. Apparently they were planning something. Something big. Diavolo knew enough to know their big plan was going to be a distraction while that Cinder woman seized the Maidens powers.

It gave him an idea. If he couldn't find it before whatever attack these three were planning commenced, he'd simply follow her to it. From what he could tell, she knew where the Maiden was. He'd follow and then destroy all of them. It was a foolproof plan. He would achieve his everlasting climax….

And he would deal with Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Nikos first.

**Those worthless pieces of trash. The Nikos girl… she has truly angered me. She plots against me each day and I am left helpless against it. **Diavolo couldn't make anyone disappear yet, unless they knew about the Maidens. Then he'd have to act. But nothing suggested to him they knew anything about it. Sure that faunus girl and her companion had investigated him, but he had gone and erased what little evidence about his past recently. They would find nothing more. His carelessness was rectified.

Ruby Rose however, had taken Jaune back towards his friends. Toward the Nikos girl. Once again, a silver eyed warrior was hampering him. He had been so close to totally subsuming Jaune like he had his father. To make him fully dependent on his presence. But she had drawn him from the edge. His Semblance was raging, the angry teeth of King Crimson clenched together in a bone breaking way.

He continued his slow march. Room by room. Nobody saw him tonight, which sped things up significantly.

All the while, inside of a team of false students, there was movement. Cinder and her subordinates, Mercury and Emerald, were in their final planning stages. The Vytal Festival was in a few days. The Fall of Beacon would follow. She couldn't help but feel smug. She had pulled the wool over Ozpin's head, along with Ironwood and his tin cans.

Of course there was one variable she didn't have any plans for. Something Salem had warned her about after discussing the threat levels of other students. One name and one image, or rather, painting, was forwarded to her.

Diavolo.

A man with long pink hair that had black dots in his locks. Shirtless, with wide shoulders and sharp green eyes.

Cinder didn't know why Salem had seen fit to tell her about this Diavolo. There was nothing in any library books about him, so he wasn't some sort of important historical player. He wasn't a student either, though neither was she. It wasn't hard to falsify transcripts, after all.

She'd keep her eyes open, of course, but she couldn't help but think Salem was merely overreacting.

Nothing could ever hope to stop her. The future Fall Maiden….

She grinned.

* * *

**Three days to the Vytal Tournament, Friday.**

The last bullhead worth of students departed from Beacon after a long evening of back and forth. The last teams from Haven, Atlas and Shade academies had finally. While some had come weeks in advance, these were the last of the last. Teams like FNKI and NDGO stepped off the bullhead ramps and were welcomed to Beacon by staff and students alike.

Team's RWBY and JNPR minus J were mulling around the landing pads with other groups of students, looking at each team that came off. Some were taking notes about weapons and style, others simply were excited to see new teams arrive!

One team in particular, however, brought almost the entire female portion of Team RWBY and JNPR to their metaphorical knees was a team of strangely dressed students from Haven. Yang's lilac eyes were practically star shaped when she recognized who they were. While Weiss, Ruby and Nora were not as visibly star-struck as the brawler, they too were practically jumping to see them.

Walking into Beacon Academy was four men, one with black hair and a mostly open chest, wearing a suit with zippers going down his shoulders. Another had a blue and red mesh shirt with a pistol hanging off his hip and a red cap that covered pretty much his entire head. It had a blue half naval piece in the shape of an arrow. The two behind them were just as bizarre and showed off just as much skin, a dark haired boy with an orange headband and an older looking teen with purple lipstick and dark blue eyes.

"That's!" Yang nearly quivered out as she pointed at the fashionable team of students.

"The most famous pop star group…" Ruby continued in a soft and awed voice.

"In all of Remnant…" both Weiss and Nora said at the same time. They couldn't believe it. Jaune's Sisters band members were also huntsmen in training?!

"That's Team Buccelatti! Team BGLG!" The girls screamed in unison, barring Blake and Pyrrha. In a dash that rivaled Ruby's Semblance, all of them rushed towards the world famous pop group, who's lead singer Trish Una has rocked the world!

Blake took the time to gaze at Ren who in turn gazed at Pyrrha. It was time. She felt the ear plugs in her hand, silently thanking Ruby for her help. _I'll make it up to her after all this. _She didn't know if she meant the plan against Diavolo, the tournament or the Fall Maiden. She had done her best to push those thoughts to the side but… Ozpin was expecting a choice. Especially now when they knew what an aura transfer would do to her. _I'd survive. My soul. My personality. It wouldn't be destroyed…_

She could still live a life with Jaune. With her friends.

But the thought still scared her.

Pyrrha pushed those thoughts to the side when she reached the door of the training room. The Amazon breathed in and out. She was a champion. She could do this. The red haired girl felt the hand of her teammate Ren on her shoulder. He said no words, but he didn't have to. It wasn't his way and Pyrrha wouldn't have it different. "This is going to work," Blake said. They had their scrolls in hand. Ready for their part to play.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the training room, the door whizzing open automatically. Inside, Jaune was hacking away at more Atlesian training bots. Of course, training with his Semblance meant that Pyrrha took a step and ended up with her hand on Jaune's shoulder instantly. Shaking off her confusion at skipped time, she opened her mouth to speak.

"I want a duel."

Her voice was firm as was her stance. She would not waver. Jaune's blue eyes widened in shock. "What?" he said.

Pyrrha repeated herself. "You heard me. I want a duel Jaune. You've been training hard and I want us to go at it in a fight. Just like we used to train."

Pyrrha was steadfast but her eyes were soft. She had to play up Diavolo's pride and Jaune's righteousness at the same time. Fortunately, both took the bait.

"Ok. When do you-" he never had the chance to finish his sentence, because Pyrrha finished for him.

"Right. Now."

* * *

The two squared off in the single arena within the room. Blake and Ren were sitting in the stands, scrolls in discrete positions so as to not raise any suspicion. Pyrrha was at one end of the arena while Jaune was standing at the other. Each wore their armor and bore their weapons. Pyrrha held her spear and shield at the ready, each being held like they were a part of her body.

Jaune on the other hand stood in his hoodie and held his sword and shield nervously, utterly unlike the champion. His armor was held on tightly but it didn't affect him much. It was his heart beating rapidly that was tightening his innards like never before. He was trying to calm himself with deep breaths, but each time he looked at Pyrrha he felt like he was going to pass out. A bead of sweat trickled down his face and dripped down to the arena floor. Diavolo was silent, no doubt off the scroll to let him focus. _I know I've gotten better but… she's still so much…._

Better.

Beautiful.

Wonderful

Stronger.

His everything.

How could he fight his world?

It would be difficult in every sense of the word. But he had to fight. He was at the everlasting top position, as Diavolo said. Didn't he have to keep it? Jaune considered it back and forth. Fight or don't fight? Try or don't try? He was thrown out of his thoughts when Pyrrha went on the offensive. He hadn't even had time to use Epitaph to predict her movements!

A loud thud was heard when Jaune hit the arena walls. Shaking his head he rose and activate his semblances sub-ability. His bangs flowed and the future was revealed.

_He saw himself with a shield heading straight for his head, connecting with his face and throwing him across_ the room once more.

In the next ten seconds, Pyrrha threw her shield towards him. The spinning bronze disk rushed towards his face at incredible speeds, but gave Jaune just enough time to activate King Crimson. The arena fell away and he saw the forecasted movements of Pyrrha's shield. The red glow that went ahead of the actual thing bounced against the glass wall behind him as he stepped out of its path.

He took the remaining time he had to reposition himself closer to Pyrrha. When his three seconds of erased time ended, he lunged forward with his sword during Pyrrha's moment of confusion. His blade connected with her spear and pushed it to one side. However, Pyrrha used her semblance to bring her shield back. Epitaph hasn't predicted that. The shield smashed into his back and threw his face into the ground. Pyrrha side stepped his collapse and backed off for a moment.

"What's wrong Jaune? Diavolo said his training was better than mine?" She hated having to speak to him like his detractors often did, but she had to draw Diavolo out to expose him.

Diavolo rushed forward to speak to Jaune, when he realized something was wrong. He'd been duped. He'd been played.

He'd been tricked. Jaune put a hand to his ear, where the ear plug should have been, only to find nothing there. Someone had swiped his Bluetooth headset!

**That Nikos girl…. she's smarter than I thought…**

Pyrrha was grinning. She had just alerted Diavolo to the fact he had no choice but to give him another call.

Like clockwork, she heard Jaune cawing out. "DORURURURUDORURURDORURU RU!" His neck craned up as he looked left and right for a 'scroll' to use. "One second Pyr!" Jaune chirped, completely ignoring the entire fight as he wandered the arena for the source of his own chirping. Finally, his eyes locked onto Pyrrha. Or rather, her circlet.

Running towards her while chirping a loud "DORURURDORUR DU", he lunged for her hair and nearly tore the circlet out. Pyrrha has not expected it, but as soon as she realized what was happening, she did nothing to stop him. Jaune threw the circlet to his head and said "Hello? Diavolo? What do I do!"

His voice was panicked and scared, his blue eyes darting left and right.

**My sweet Jaune! You must be wary with the Nikos girl! Her jealous has boiled over! Allow me to come there and show her who is the true king of kings**.

"But that wouldn't be fair! I have to finish this fight! Myself! Just give me some advice please!

Jaune sounded desperate and quite frankly, he was. Diavolo wasn't offering him any of the techniques from training and was silent.

Jaune waited until he spoke again, which left him disappointed in the end.

**Your Semblance is the key! Erase her!**

That was all he would get. Jaune realized the call was over and rose up to hand Pyrrha her circlet back. "Sorry about that Pyr" he mumbled under his breath. The Amazon couldn't be more ecstatic though. With one glance at the stands, she confirmed with her friends that they had recorded all of it. _Time to finish this up _she thought.

Resuming the fight didn't take long. Jaune activates Epitaph to see that Pyrrha was going to land three consecutive hits on him within the next five seconds, a prospect that terrified him, even if he could skip over it. His Semblance kicked in as she lunged forward. He moved out of the way of the three hits, one, two, three. It never ceases to amaze him how people unconsciously continued acting as fate prescribed them. Existing outside of fate was still a giddying thought. Time resumed as Jaune appeared behind Pyrrha to give her three hits of his own. They crashed into her aura, but a fist from her tossed him towards the ground. Jaune looked up to see his own aura and saw that he was losing.

He knew why. He would strikes intentionally weaker. Jaune used his Semblance sparingly, regardless of what Diavolo told him to do. He could not consciously aim to try and beat Pyrrha, because he had already lost in his heart. Victory was her's from the start. He was her's. He always had been.

The fight ended soon after. Jaune simply yielded when his aura reached halfway. Pyrrha didn't seem to mind, and in fact, gave him the brightest smile she could muster. It had been so long since he'd seen that… so long since he'd been truly around her.

He missed her so much. _I have to tell her. I have to tell her how I feel. _

Diavolo was furious as Jaune was approached by the amazon. He forgot himself the moment she embraced him and spoke again. "You did so well Jaune! I'm proud of your improvement!"

This wasn't what Jaune expected to hear. Not since Yang's duel with him. The look on her face that day was what he thought she was still feeling. First Ruby, now Pyrrha?

**You worthless, spineless coward! Are you surrendering my everlasting climax for her? For her?**

Jaune's eyes widened. How was Diavolo speaking to him? His earpiece wasn't there. His scroll wasn't there. How the hell?

Jaune stumbled backwards onto the arena floor as Ren and Blake were coming to speak to them. Pyrrha looked back, concerned. "Jaune?"

"What the hell? Where are you Diavolo? How? How the hell are you speaking to me?" The boy screamed terrified. _Am I just hearing things? Am I just imagining things? _

It sounded so much like him. Except it wasn't a scroll-call. It was there in his head and it absolutely terrified him. There was no way he was imagining things.

Ren and Blake had joined Pyrrha, the faunus girl holding a scroll in her hands. "Jaune? Jaune what's wrong?" he heard Ren say.

"Am I crazy?" The blond knight finally said. The three teens above him all looked at one another and then back at Jaune before finally, Blake spoke up.

"No. You're not."

_But? Isn't that what they were all saying? That I was crazy? That I had a voice in my head? That I was weak _

Jaune was breathing heavily until he felt Pyrrha's hand intertwined with his. A calmness flooded his rancor, lighting out his blazing heart like a salve. **Listen to me Jaune. My sweet, cute little Jaune… They will lie to you.. you have to listen to me! I, we, are the only ones worthy!**

"I'm crazy. I'm hearing voices in my head. Just like you guys said. I'm crazy, I'm-"

Blake put a hand on his shoulder to steady Jaune as she nodded to Ren to show him his scroll. The knight looked at it with a look of confusion. What did Ren have to do with any of this? What were they trying to show him?

He pulled up two videos, one recorded by Blake, the other by him. "You're not crazy, Jaune. But… you have to know what's happened to you."

So they showed him everything. They showed him Blake recording HIS Semblance freely walking the halls of Beacon's dorms, a silhouetted figure that had to be him. Semblances didn't simply jump from person to person. And frankly, he had no memory of this. He wasn't sleepwalking, as he was clearly conscious of his own actions. He saw himself walked closer and closer to where Blake was recording until they heard Port, causing him to erase time and jump away.

"But I… what does that mean? I don't remember doing any of that. But… who else could it be?" Jaune looked to Pyrrha for guidance, for an answer, but was only met with a nudge to keep watching. The next video was recorded just recently, during the duel. It showed Jaune fighting Pyrrha, time being erased and him appearing and reappearing. It was curious, as the video simply seemed to skip the same three seconds of erased time, each time it occurred. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until… Jaune watched with widened eyes as he witnessed himself madly chirping in the air. _I am crazy.._ he thought again as the color melted from his face. He felt his partners hand squeeze his own.

Jaune cringed, filled with shame over his actions. How could he just tear her circlet out like that and start madly speaking into it like it was a scroll? He was so sure that it was a scroll before ... was every moment he spent talking to Diavolo like that?

The video ended and Ren stowed his scroll away in a back pocket. "You guys were all right… I was so stupid! I am crazy! I'm gonna get kicked out of Beacon for sure and-"

Pyrrha interrupted him. "You're not crazy. But it is something. Something… else. Ren and Blake can explain it. You'll have to… just have an open mind for now ..."

Ren and Blake looked at one another then towards Jaune, with his blue pleading eyes practically begging for answers.

So they told him. Everything.

* * *

**Two days to the Vytal Festival**

Jaune Arc had a very, very interesting day yesterday. He made up with his friends, all of them, teammates and RWBY both. He apologized to Yang specifically, who told him it was no big deal before jabbing his shoulder with a friendly Vomit boy remark.

Jaune had also made up with Ruby and Pyrrha, two people he thought had hated him. Turns out they weren't mad, at least not anymore. It felt like everything was back to normal.

Except for the fact that he found out from his friends that he was sharing a body with the soul of a scientist and mob boss from hundreds of years ago that had quite literally transferred his aura into his family line and tried to seemingly divide him from his friends for some purpose.

All in all, a very interesting day.

Jaune was sitting on his bed with Pyrrha, Ren and Nora talking about their plans to win the tournament and going over all the teams they might go up against. This gave Jaune and Pyrrha some much needed semi-quiet time. Because nothing with Nora in the room could truly count as quiet.

Diavolo had been completely silent ever since his secret was out. Jaune wondered if he'd ever hear from him again, but a part of him knew his second soul wouldn't let him be alone. At least now that he was aware of his presence, he could counter his little night escapades. At least, until he could figure out if Diavolo was going to be antagonistic or… make up with him.

"Jaune" Pyrrha said softly. She was sitting right next to him, incredibly close. The two had spent… a lot of the previous night talking. Both had come extremely close to the truth of their feelings but well, they were both cowards in their own ways.

"I'm just thinking" he responded, his hands laid back against his mattress. He was just wondering, waiting, thinking, about what to do next. The Vytal Festival was two days away and well…

Could he lead it? He didn't know.

"You're doubting yourself again" she said matter of factly. Once he might have questioned how she knew that, but he'd be lying if he couldn't tell similar things about her with just a glance. Jaune nodded. No use lying.

"About the tournament. About Diavolo. About everything."

Pyrrha cut him off right there. She wouldn't hear another word. Today was supposed to be a happy day. They got Jaune back. Back from Diavolo's hands. Back from the brink. She got her knight back. _After the festival.. I'll ask him. I'll tell him everything. After… the Maiden…_

"Jaune Arc" She said firmly. "You are our leader. And we trust you. Diavolo can't do anything to you or us anymore. You _can _lead us to victory in this tournament.

You _can_ lead us to graduation in this school. And you _can_ become a master of your powerful semblance and your weapons. Because I'm here. We're here, with you."

Jaune didn't say anything and only did what he thought was right. Which was throwing himself into her with a massive hug. Pyrrha turned as red as her hair and awkwardly hugged back, burning with glee. He had finally initiated something! One step closer to heaven! "Just. Thanks Pyr. You.. Ren and Nora… RWBY. You're the best friends I've ever had and.. you… are the best partner I've ever had."

"I'm the only partner you've ever had…." she giggled as they held each other close. Jaune groaned as he realized his mistake. Everyone's partner was their only partner. Duh. That's what happens when you get to Beacon. "But… I also think you're the best partner I've ever had too." She played into Jaune's mistake and cheered him back up. When the two broke apart, their hearts were racing.

"Why don't we all go to Vale tonight? For some dinner?" he heard Nora say from the other end of the room. _Not a bad idea… celebrate a bit before the tournament… maybe invite RWBY along_ he thought.

"It would do well for our team's morale" Ren concurred in his usual stoic analysis. Pyrrha nodded her head in agreement. It was settled then. A joint JNPR-RWBY dinner would be held in Vale, to celebrate friendship, teammates and kicking some ass in the tournament.

The four of them rose from whatever they were doing to go tell their sister team. Nora and Ren left first, but Pyrrha waited at the door as Jaune took a few steps, only to hold his head slightly. "You go on. Just a headache" he said before Pyrrha asked if he was ok. She had been doing much more of that than she deserved, frankly, and he wouldn't burden her with a little headache. With a smile of reassurance from the knight, she headed to catch up with her other teammates at RWBY's dorm.

**Jaune…**

His eyes widened. It was Diavolo….

**We… do not need to be foes… I kept myself a secret to you… to make it easier for you. So that you would not doubt yourself or attribute your success to someone other than your own training…**

_You could have told me_ he snapped back in his mind. His fists balled up. Diavolo had almost ruined all his friends for his stupid everlasting climax.

**Perhaps. But that is the past. This is the present. I can still help you. Help your team and your friends. We could work together. As we always should have. As I should have done from the start.**

_Why didn't you trust my friends? Why drive me away from them?_

**Because I was betrayed by those I once trusted before. I was trying to protect you, my sweet little Jaune.** Diavolo never forgot. Giorno Arc, that newcomer to his gang. And Salem… that witch….

Jaune considered it. He still needed help with his Semblance, and even though he agreed to restart training with Pyrrha… nobody knew how to teach time erasure except for Diavolo. Plus, he felt some sympathy for the other soul. Being betrayed by those you trusted? To the point where you died for it? It would certainly make trusting someone ever again harder. Regardless of what happened then and now, Jaune knew he needed him to continue his training. _Ok. Alright. We can work together. As a team? _

**As a team **he lied. All he needed was to play nice. Jaune was a necessity to have, but the rest weren't. He'd make them all disappear the moment he had his Maidens requiem, and forcing Jaune to take his own place in the afterlife.

Jaune himself wasn't fully sure of Diavolo's intentions, but decided to let things happen for now and see where they went. The soul he shared was his ancestor after all… surely he had his reasons. _Welcome to Team JNPR then, Diavolo…_

**To Team JNPR. Now and always.**

Until he erased them forever…

Jaune opened the door and began heading towards his teammates and partner, who waved at him with bright, beaming green eyes. His own blues lit up at that.

**My first piece of advice in our new friendship… just tell her how you feel already…**

Jaune couldn't help but agree.

He decided that after the Vytal Tournament, he would ask her out. He couldn't wait forever and neither could she.

_Things are finally starting to look up… _he thought as he waved back at his friends. He and Diavolo had come to a new partnership. His friendships were restored and strengthened. His bond with Pyrrha was the closest it has ever been. And frankly, he felt it in his heart, in his soul (not Diavolo's soul, that would be icky), they Pyrrha felt the same way about him. It had to be.

Nothing could possibly go wrong now.

—

To be continued….

**A/N: And so concludes the Pyrrha vs Diavolo arc. Will things get better for Jaune now that the truth is revealed? Pfft. Wait and see. **

**Now onto other things. Forgive me, dear readers, for my late posting. I usually post on Saturday, but this chapter took so long for me to get right and the fact that I probably have the cold means I pushed publication back a day. I've also put JaJaunelion in hiatus until Volume 1 of STB is done. Which means, until the big climax of this half of the story is reached, I'll keep doing chapters weekly instead of Bi-weekly!**

**I've also been writing up a new story in the works. Look for that soon, as well as advertising this story on the fanfiction thread on /r/RWBY! If you're reading this from there, then hello! I hope you enjoyed it. As usual, I urge you to leave a review! Be it a simple comment, praise or criticism, please tell me! A fanfiction writers lifeblood is comments. It gives us the tinglies. **

**I hope you enjoyed. Unless you're a Saints fan. Y'all beat us by two in the Superdome. Don't feel too good about it! And to my Green Bay readers… we're about ready to whoop you today! (I promise I'll try and keep football notes as minimal as possible but… no promises.)**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed and hope you had a great one.**

**See you next time!**


	8. In the Court of the Crimson King

_Man, things are not going my way _Jaune thought as he vomited out his guts for the second time since arriving at the arena. He really needed to stop overeating whenever he felt nervous. It wasn't even their match yet! Yet he still felt the anxiety eating away at him. The fear of failing his team. His partner. All in front of the entire freaking world!

He'd be exposed!

He'd be humiliated and hated!

He'd be-

"Jaune?" a familiar champions voice broke him out of his nervous stupor. Just like that he felt a wave of calm wash over him, bathing him in a sea of confidence. The knight looked over to Pyrrha Nikos in the stands, with Ren and Nora sitting in the next two seats down. They were watching Team RWBY fight today, their own matchup being later on against Team BGLG. Oh great, there came the nervousness again.

"Yea?"

His voice cracked as he croaked out the words pathetically, causing Pyrrha to giggle and then quickly follow with an "I'm sorry!" In between her laughing. Jaune rolled his eyes but decided to let it go whenever he felt Pyrrha slip her hands into his. With interlocked fingers that rested on their shared armrest, the two blushed and looked away before staring back at the fight that was about to begin before them.

**Why haven't you asked yet? **Jaune heard the familiar voice of Diavolo echo in his head. Jaune figures he'd be asking that. Ever since they'd come to an agreement to work together, Diavolo has been trying to "help" Jaune ask his partner out. So far things had been… rough. The closest he came was when Diavolo tried to forcibly control his body and make him ask her, resulting in the two fighting for control of limbs and the mouth.

Suffice to say it didn't work. _I'm working on it! My plan is for after the festival! Don't push me ok!_

If Diavolo had a face, Jaune imagined his eyes would be rolling. **How far the Arc line has fallen. When I married your ancestor, I-**

_I don't need to know about my hundreds of years old grandpa's romantic life! Ok?_

That shut him up alright. Jaune tried his best to refocus on the match at hand. Team RWBY was fighting Team ABRN. He looked up just in time to see Blake use her semblance to beat the skater girl, the one he thought was Reese? Regardless, it seemed pretty obvious to him that RWBY was gonna win. He didn't need Epitaph to predict something like that.

And then they did! Of course Jaune cheered for his newly re-acquainted friend and sister team as hard as he would for his own. Having them gone from his life was a nightmare he didn't want to relive, so he was going to make every moment count. They'd do the same after all.

As expected, Team RWBY won a resounding victory which put them forward for the next round. During the descent his fears about their matchup were only exacerbated with no match to distract him with. The only other form of distraction was….

Noodles. Pre-match noodles.

_Great. __**Great**_ the two souls sighed at the same time practically. While Jaune wasn't opposed to some good _A Simple Wok_ noodles, Diavolo absolutely detested such food. It was vile in his words, despite not having any real sense of taste unless he was in control of Jaune's body. Thankfully he wasn't right now.

The four sat with their sister team who were dealing with their own little conversations and the regular back and forth banter the two teams were known for. His mind returned to the present when Nora was explaining their strengths. "-And Jaune has some kooky time jumpy wumpy old guy in his head!"

The blond knight just slurped some noodles in an awkward fashion, feeling his nervousness flood in. They sure were expecting a lot out of his Semblance… when he didn't even have that much experience fighting _real_ opponents with it. The only time was probably with Yang and well… that was Diavolo more than him. It had exhausted him because of those ten seconds. He didn't even know how many times he could skip time in his three to four second window before the strain got to him. "Byeah" was what he finally said with a mouthful of noodles.

He was then was met by an explosion of laughter from all present, including some chuckling from quiet Ren. _Yea I kinda deserved that one_ he thought, smiling at his friends and especially Pyrrha. All of that came crashing down of course when they heard the call of the two teams needed at the arena. In fifteen minutes they were going to fight four on four on live television across the globe…

The modern pop-fashion idols and hunters in training, his older sisters friends and Co-stars, Team BGLG, led by the smart, mysterious and resolute Bruno Buccelatti of Mistral.

Against Team JNPR. Led by him.

No pressure….. Wait. How many noodles did he eat again? _Oh gods my stomach.._

* * *

Amity Arena, the floating coliseum of doom, did little to calm his nerves. As they waited to be let into the area of battle, Jaune felt himself pacing as his team geared up. Given that he had a simple attire for combat, he has finished first. After a few minutes of pacing, his teammates signaled they were ready. Ren and Nora began to head out while Jaune kept Pyrrha behind for a moment. "Hey Pyr, I uh…"

Pyrrha rose an eyebrow in slight confusion. Now wasn't the best of times for talk. Still, he stood silent and listened. "After the tournament I uh. Need to tell you something. That's all I wanted to say" his words were nervously squeaked out and he quickly bolted for the arena, leaving Pyrrha in the end.

_He couldn't mean…. Does he mean to say?_

The thought made her giddy as she followed her team leader to the arena.

It was truly something different being inside the arena than being in the stands. Up there, the arena itself looked smaller and it's length shorter. But when you were actually in it? It felt massive. There was an oppressive feeling that fell on all participants when they entered the field, the sound of cheering fans from all the different schools, the flash of cameras and hum of television drones buzzing around. Even though it was temperature controlled, the biomeless stage felt incredibly hot. Though that may have been their own nerves. Their opponents however showed no sign of pressure, externally at least.

The announcers, Professors Port and Oobleck, were beginning their pre-match introductions of both teams. From what Jaune could see, Team BGLG had raving fans in the crowds, given their pop-star status and the popularity of Trish Arc-Una. _Is she here in the stands? _he wondered. _And who is she supporting? Her brother or her friends?_

That put Jaune on a train of thought that barrelled quickly into doubting if his own friends in the stands would cheer for his team! He knew Team RWBY was filled completely with mega fans of Team Buccellati (the band) and could very well transfer to Team Buccelatti(the hunter team.)

His worries were broken when he heard the booming voice of Professor Port echo across the stadium. He was MUCH louder down here than up there, it seemed.

"Representing Beacon Academy is Team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc! I'm sure everyone is also excited to see his partner in action today, four time Mistral Tournament Champion, Pyrrha Nikos!" Jaune noticed she visibly looked down at that. He knew better than most how much she hated the pedestal, and here she was being put right back on top of it by the world. "Joining them also are Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie!" The camera would show off the remaining two members of JNPR, with Nora making a silly face at the camera for all the world to see.

He flashed her a reassuring smile, the best he could do when he himself had a stomach filled with doubt and noodles.

"And from Haven Academy, you may know them as band members of the world famous pop-group, is Team BGLG! Led by the fashionable Bruno Buccelatti!" This time it was Oobleck's voice zipping around the stadium with the same speed as the man himself.

Standing before Team JNPR was perhaps the most bizarre dressed men they'd ever seen. Getting a closer look now compared to when they had arrived, their fashion sense sure was something else….

"Next is his partner, Leone Abbachio!" The cameras panned towards the far left edge of Team

BGLG. There stood a tall man with a slim build and a light purple headpiece that was serrated. His hair was long and light and being divided into spikes that angled upwards and outwards at their ends. The hair was shoulder length. His outfit was no less strange. It was a long, dark and lapelless overcoat with laces that that crossed his bare chest. His pants were dark bell-bottom pants with a belt buckle that had a silver-gold "A." His shoes were black and his lips were purple, most certainly colored.

The next two partners on the team were just as peculiar. The first one looked very young, with an average if not gangly figure and a head full of messy, dark hair with bangs over his eyes. His clothes seemed the most normal thankfully, with a simple dark and slim tank top and orange headband and wristband. "Narancia Ghirga!" Port boomed over the microphone as the boy mimicked Nora with his own silly face.

The boys partner however was a different story. The most striking feature was not the unique headgear he wore, with its diagonal grid pattern and arrow pointing downward colored in red and blue. No, it was the fact he seemed to be the only one of them with a weapon, a simple purple, short barreled revolver in his belt. His clothing was a blue turtleneck crop top cashmere sweater that had a diagonal pattern like his hat. It left his midriff exposed to swooning fans. His pants were tiger-striped leather and his boots were too. He had black irises that were soaking in all the attention and love of the crowds. "Guido Mista!"

Finally, the camera settled on the two team leaders. Jaune Arc and Bruno Buccelatti. Jaune narrowed his eyes on the enemy leader to try and get something out of him, but he wasn't so lucky. That man seemed to be like a stone. Bruno Buccelatti was a mid-sized looking man with a slim build. His black hair was chin length with straight cut bangs covering his forehead. A braid adorned the top of his head and hair clippers surmounted on each side of his bangs.

His attire itself was almost businesslike. Almost. He was wearing an all-white suit covered in small, black, spoon like symbols with an open chest that seemed to mirror the consistent pattern of showing lots of skin the team seemed to have. There were zippers along his pants, his shoulders and his outside shoulders, along his arm. At his choker was also a zipper itself.

Then the camera panned on Jaune who looked decidedly plain. Bummer.

The announcers voices seemed to dissipate to Jaune as his teammates looked at him, waiting for a plan as the biomes were selected. _Forests and mountains. _He immediately thought of a plan. Diavolo was silent, content on watching the way Jaune led his team. He truly hadn't seen his host bodies skill in battle, let alone leading. Suffice to say he was interested.

Seeing the small simulated thunderstorm at the top of the mountain, as well as the flashing semblance of Narancia indicating it had some long distance capability, he waved Nora and Ren over.

"3!" Port said over the cheering crowds.

"Nora, as soon as the fight starts, get up the mountain and get that lighting in you!"

"2!" Oobleck continued.

"Ren, draw their fire and cover her! Pyrrha you're with me!"

Ren sighed as he knew he was probably going to be shot at very soon, but nodded his head. The massive grin on Nora's face told Jaune she understood his orders. Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder and that told him they were ready, as well as burning away his lingering doubts. "Let's win this."

"1!"

The massive horn blared to signify the start of the match, a roar of approval exploding through the crowd. The next Vytal Tournament Match had begun!

Nora began her part of the strategy and bolted towards the mountain to get to its peak. At once Ren peeled off from her and began firing Storm-Flower at Abbacchio, who at once ran towards the protective tree line to protect himself. His aura flared as the bullets slammed into them. Even now a good bit of his aura was weakened from what the aura-board said.

Jaune shouted to Pyrrha a "He's got the lowest aura!" which was repeated to Ren. The stoic man understood and kept his fire up as Nora ascended the mountain top.

The rest of Team BGLG however, was not going to let that happen peacefully. Narancia began to run towards the mountain, shouting "Aerosmith!" as he did so. A small, red, toy airplane materialized above him, his Semblance. Any laughter the crowd might have had for it was vanished when it unleashed a hail of bullets from its two guns at a rate far faster than Storm-Flower. Ren sucked behind a tree as the bullets tore through part of his aura before focusing on Nora. Nora herself deflected some of them, and continued jumping, dodging and weaving as she did so.

Jaune had no time to relax as he felt Epitaph activate, his bangs waving in the air to show him the future.

_Mists fired his bullets towards Jaune, who had raised his shield to deflect them as they barreled towards him. However, Epitaph showed the bullets striking him, somehow moving over his shield and down into him. _

Jaune then heard the pop of Mista's revolver as six bullets flew towards him. Jaune raised his shield to block them, but as he did he activated King Crimson. Never before had he erased time in such a large area.

The world as usual fell apart and everyone acted as they would have in the period of erased time. One second passed as Jaune moved out of the way of the bullets. Their red after image showed them exactly as they would have gone. Jaune could see the bullets of Aerosmith fly through the air well before they actually flew through the air.

Jaune took the last two seconds of his erased time to charge towards Mista with Crocea Mors. As time returned, Mista looked confused, Jaune seemingly appearing out of nowhere and his bullets all seeming to have simply appeared at the end result of their trajectory.

Jaune took the opportunity and brought his sword down into Mista's shoulders, which threw him back into the ground. The man rolled over and Jaune saw that as he jumped back up, he lifted the edge of his cap. Six bullets fell out of his cap and into the open chambers of his revolver. Before Jaune could attack again, Mista bolted for the same tree line Abbachio was hiding in and was probably going to use his range to his advantage. _Shit! They're all ranged fighters from what I can tell! Bruno and Abbacchio haven't revealed their semblances yet!_

Jaune began to run over to Ren who was exchanging bullets with Narancia. He saw Pyrrha in his peripheral vision and paid it no mind until he felt Epitaph activate and…

_Pyrrha's spear crashed into his aura from behind and knocked him down to the ground, Pyrrha having thrown it herself_.

A shocked Jaune activated King Crimson and saw the red glow of the Milò's trajectory pass right through him. The knight passed to the side and sure enough, the spear flew through the air. When Jaune looked to Pyrrha he noticed that… something was wrong! He saw the real Pyrrha fighting with Bruno!

Time resumed and Jaune saw Leone Abbacchio standing by "Pyrrha" with slight confusion on how he had missed.

"MOODY BLUES!" he shouted as 'Pyrrha' moved to attack Jaune. However, he wouldn't get so lucky. The sound of thunder slamming into a human body brought everyone's attention to Nora, who despite having some serious damage to her aura, had made it to the mountain top. The lighting coursed through her as she formed Magnhild into its grenade launcher form and aimed right at Abbacchio.

The tall man widened his eyes in shock as Nora winked at the camera and fired all of her rounds towards him and Jaune. The knight quickly rolled out of the way, but Abbacchio and his Moody Blues were not so lucky. The sound of a human slamming the edge of the arena and the buzzer signaling his aura being at 15% or lower told Jaune all he needed to know.

_We have the advantage!_

"Alright! Arkos and Flower Power!" he shouted as his teammates all rejoined one another near the base of the mountain. Jaune turned round to attack again when he felt the presence of confused teammates.

"Uh, Jaune? What's an Arkos? And a Flower Power?" Nora asked curiously, her launcher now in hammer form again. Ren too looked confused. As did Pyrrha. Her glimmering green eyes seemed to say 'Sorry!'

"They're our team code words! Arkos is when Pyrrha and I do the shield thing and Flower Power is you and Ren!"

"Where do we get a flower?" Ren asked, that being the only thing he took from this. Nora herself was leaning on her hammer as the entire match came to a halt. The three remaining members of Team BGLG watched curiously. However, unlike perhaps, Team BRNZ, they did not wait for JNPR to finish their banter before resuming the match. The sound of Aerosmith signaled them that the attack had resumed.

Machine-gun fire filled the air as the four members of JNPR ran for cover. **You should have used Epitaph! **Diavolo chided, finally entering into the conversation. "I know!" Jaune shouted to Diavolo, which meant he looked like a crazy person shouting to himself as billets smashed into a rock he ducked behind. "Pyrrha! You take his fire with your shield! Nora! You go after Mista! Ren! Take Narancia out! I'll cover you from the front!"

The three nodded as they jumped forward from behind the rock. At once, Aerosmith began firing at Ren and Jaune. The knight settled on taking the rounds into his shield over skipping time, as the bullets might still hit Ren. The two of them then dashed towards Narancia to try and close the distance, Ren firing Storm Flower at the other teenager with a battlecry.

_Wait. Didn't it have a bomb?_

Jaune felt Epitaph activate and saw that Aerosmith indeed had a bomb. One that would drop right on top of them in the next ten seconds. When it was mere seconds away he tried to activate King Crimson but it wasn't much good. The bomb dropped as fate willed it drop, the explosion throwing Ren out of the arena.

"REN!" Jaune heard Nora cry out as time resumed, not even bothered by the fact that she had skipped time and was closer to Mista. Mista himself smirked at Narancia who cheered.

"That was for Abbacchio!" The boy grinned as he ran over to Mista and high fived him.

"Did you see that Mista! Right out of the arena!"

Mista was about to say something when Bruno snapped at them. "We can celebrate later! Now is time for your resolve! Mista! Take out Nora. Her aura is the lowest of them all. Narancia. You go after Jaune. I'll take care of Nikos."

The two nodded as the final confrontation of the fight began.

It was three vs three now. Not the best situation but one he could live with. Narancia had low aura, though Mista and Buccellati still had a decent amount. On the flip side, he had most of his still as did Pyrrha, but Nora was pretty low. _We have to play smart._

"Close the distant Nora!" he shouted as he finished another Epitaph prediction of Aerosmith peppering his aura with bullets. Three seconds of erased time put an end to that as Jaune rushed for Narancia, swinging his sword at him and catching the boy's head dead on. Narancia's aura flared as he growled and tried something different.

Aerosmith didn't fire, but flew straight towards Jaune, it's angry propellers ready to cut up his aura. Jaune gulped and immediately began to run, much to the crowds that had Narancia distracted.

Meanwhile, Mista was charging towards Nora, who was bracing herself for whatever attack the gunslinger had planned. As he was running, he smirked. Sex Pistols was about to take Valkyire by total surprise. He hadn't used his semblance much this fight, only once or twice without the enemy noticing, but now he was going to make a real show out of knocking Nora out. Even if only one bullet hit her, her aura would go into the red. "Pretty good fight, huh Nora?" he taunted out as he aimed his pistol and…

He felt his arm go heavy as the barrel of his gun swung into his shoulder. "Wha- What the hell is this?" Mista shouted in confusion as he fell to one knee. The gun was shrouded in black aura that only meant one thing. "I gotta hand it to ya' Nikos! That's a neat trick!" Mista grunted as the weight of the gun being polarized towards his bullets strained him. "But no semblance…."

Nora met his challenge and began to run towards him as well, hammer ready to strike.

To everyone's amazement, Mista began running once again towards Nora at full speed. There was a constant smirk on his face. Both Professor Port and Oobleck were too stunned to commentate on his actions, simply settling on watching to see what would happen. "Is a match against true resolve! Resolve is what wins the fight, maybe not the battle, but the fight!"

As he shouted his wisdom at Pyrrha, he was mere seconds away from slamming into Nora when suddenly, he turned around and dove. "And here is my resolve! SEX PISTOLS!"

Mista lowered the aura around his shoulder completely, channelling it all into his legs to steady himself as he fell, he pulled the trigger of his gun and fired right into his own aura-less shoulder. Mista grunted in pain as he fell to the ground, blood exploding from his shoulders and his mouth as all six bullets burst out of his flesh. "Yea. That's my resolve!" the man coughed out as his aura recovered his shoulder and began to frantically heal his wounds.

Nora was stunned, as was everyone else at the sheer madness of the attack. But she was only stunned for a moment, dodging to one side and easily getting past his bullets. "Nice resolve!" she snorted before she heard what would be her doom.

"YEEEEEE-HAWWWWW"

The sound of Guido Mista's semblance, Sex Pistols, was heard all around the arena. Six little bullet shaped beings were riding the bullets back towards Nora. They had kicked the bullets to swerve back around and into the Valkyrie. Nora didn't even have a moment to react when all six bullets smashed into her back and threw her up into the air and back down, screaming as her aura fell to six percent. She was knocked out, leaving three against two. "Yea. Like I said. Resolve! I can't believe that worked!"

Pyrrha was dumbstruck. Not only did Mista blow out his own shoulder with his gun to avoid her semblance, he didn't even know if it would work. Her shock was broken when she saw Jaune run in front of her with Aerosmith blasting him with bullets. Shaking her head, she was determined to even the playing field a little bit. At once she turned towards Narancia and Mista, the latter who was reloading his weapon while on the ground. Pyrrha lunged towards Narancia and used her semblance to polarize his bullets towards Mista's gun.

Guido Mista didn't even see it coming. The man tried to jump up and run away, but his shoulder wound was still healing. Pyrrha then tossed her shield towards him, slamming into his back and throwing him out of bounds to the satisfying noise of a buzzer. _Two on two…_

Then she faced Narancia, who was not looking as confident as before. The two panted as Jaune crawled on the ground to stand back up. **Now is your chance! Strike at Narancia while he's distracted! We're the Crimson King Jaune! NOW!**

Jaune rose and began to race towards Narancia when all of a sudden, he felt his foot being pulled and then stuck in place. Standing behind him, seemingly out of nowhere, was Bruno Buccellati. Jaune looked down and saw some sort of massive zipper in the ground that had pulled and tightened around his foot. "It appears that you share the same resolve as Mista. But I have yet to see if your partner does!" Bruno began to race towards Pyrrha to try and save Narancia from being knocked out. Jaune shouted to Pyrrha to warn her.

However, he wasn't so quick. Pyrrha had already knocked him out. The boy was at 10% aura and flat on his ass. Pyrrha spun around with her shield in hand to stop Buccellati in his tracks. "Did you know that the arena actually goes beyond just the biomes?" he asked rhetorically, knowing that she did not. Bruno kept talking even as Pyrrha refused to respond, playing right into Bruno's plan. "Underneath the arena is not out of bounds fully. There's a certain line you have to cross to get out of bounds underneath the arena."

_What the hell is he talking about? _Jaune thought as he pulled on his leg to try and free himself. Finally having enough of his predicament, Jaune activated King Crimson for a half second and took himself out. Time resumed fast enough for him to see Bruno attack.

"Mista only told you half of what's needed for victory! Resolve is one! Desire is another! The one with the resolve to win and the one with the desire to win will be the victor! How much desire do you have, Pyrrha Nikos?!"

Pyrrha gritted her teeth and shouted back in anger. The feelings of competition from her days as a prize champion in Sanctum remerged. Something she wished was buried. Her composure wavered for a moment, though her stance was immaculate. That was all Buccellati needed. With a battle cry that mirrored his knocked out teammates, he revealed his semblance.

"STINKY FINGERS!"

Buccellati lifted his arm up and pointed at Pyrrha who braces herself from an oncoming projectile, but nothing came. What she saw, however, was his fist and wrist practically shooting out of his arm by a thread that upon closer inspection was actually an unzipped zipper. The fist struck not her however, but the ground right behind her. "I don't have the aura or the skill to beat you one on one" he began to explain as Pyrrha's eyes widened. The ground…. it was opening up like a zipper…. right out of the arena!

She had no time to escape as Bruno Buccelatti tackled her into the opening zipper, the pair falling out of the arena together. "So I'll knock you out in one go! A team leader has to be willing to do anything for victory!"

Jaune gasped alongside the countless spectators as she rushed for the zipper. He had no idea if even King Crimson would help him here. For all he knew, Pyrrha was falling to her death right now! The knight looked up at the announcers as if to ask why the match was still going on when he realized what Bruno was saying those things earlier. A part of the arena's boundary was below the whole arena itself! So the game was still on!

As Pyrrha and Bruno kept falling, Bruno outstretched his arm to touch one of his zippers. Pyrrha's eyes widened, thinking that this might have been it. _Jaune. I never got to tell Jaune that I lo_-

Her train of thought was interrupted when she felt her arm being pulled. Bruno Buccelatti was slowly descending now, using his unzipped arm to lower Pyrrha Nikos gently out of bounds. His grip was firm. He would not let a fellow student fall to her death, of course. Merely knock her out of the match. And from the sound of the buzzer above, he had done just that.

"Victory also comes from restraint. It's still just a tournament, signora"

The smile he gave her was genuine. His arm then zipped up and the two nearly flew out of the opening created by his zippers. Jaune nearly jumped with joy when he saw Pyrrha was completely fine! There was no danger at all! Well, actually there was, but Bruno's gamble seemed to have worked safely!

But that meant…

_It's all down to me…_

_Oh gods. Oh gods. I can't do this. I'm a fraud. A failure. I'll embarrass myself. Worse, I'll embarrass Pyrrha in front of everyone! I can't-_

"You can do this Jaune!" he heard coming from his knocked out partner who was moving to exit the area of play. Her wide smile was filled with absolute support. The first person who believed in him. Who still believed in him! He had to win. No way he could lose now. He had to win for her!

Jaune put his sword and shield forward, beckoning Bruno forward. He would not flee from this fight!

"It seems only you and I are left. Who will have the greater desire to win! Jaune Arc!"

Bruno wasted no time in rushing after the blond knight. Epitaph activated in a half second, Jaune's hair being swept up to show him the next ten seconds.

_Bruno would fire his arm again, this time right around him and into his shield, disabling it by splitting it in half with a zipper. His fist would then come back and…. Jaune saw himself being beaten several times with Bruno's zipper arm, his own limbs being unzipped slowly until his aura was at its minimum._

Jaune knew what he had to do! He had to erase the moment of time when Bruno would hit him with his Semblance! Three seconds! He only had three seconds.

"Stinky Fingers!" Bruno shouted as his Semblance fired off. Once again his fist blew out towards Jaune and just as predicted it went around him to hit his shield. But Jaune countered with his own semblance!

"King Crimson! Time will erase for all but myself!" Jaune roared as time was broken apart and the arena fell to bits, leaving only the dark, starry void of erased time. Jaune saw the trajectory of Bruno's fist pass through his shield and also hit his sword. As the fist itself actually moved forward, Jaune stepped to the side and moved to behind Bruno, who was beginning his attack as if he was still conscious of it.

Jaune felt a strain in his body as he realized he'd been holding time for four seconds. "Time! Resume!" He cried out as the erased time ended. For Bruno, it had been like he instantly began throwing punches at empty air. His momentary lapse was all Jaune needed. With a furious cry he began slashing at Bruno left and right, screaming a battle cry that bubbled up from the rage within him. Bruno made him so worried about Pyrrha, worried for her life! He thought she was going to die and he couldn't do anything about it. His very soul cried out in anger as he attacked.

"USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS!" His sword kept striking left and right, crashing into Burno over and over again, his body contorting with each strike.

"USELESS!" he screamed finally, Bruno being launched backwards. He heard the buzzer announcing his opponents broken aura.

Jaune was panting, his sword being the only thing keeping him up. The screams of excitement from the crowd were muted to him as he looked up at the scoreboard.

Jaune Arc: 16% Aura

Bruno Buccelatti : 14% Aura

_I did it Pyrrha. I won for you! _Unlike the fight with Yang, when Jaune looked at Pyrrha, she was positively beaming with joy. He could see Team RWBY cheering wildly, Ruby jumping up and down for the victory of their sister team and the performance of her bestie-that-wasn't-Weiss. While Yang was cheering almost as excited as her younger sister, Blake and Weiss were giving their own genuine, if albeit more controlled, cheers as well.

For the first time, Jaune felt victorious.

* * *

"And then he was all like, 'I've got the resolve' and he shot his own shoulder out! Just to knock Nora out!" Ruby squealed to her teammates and friends. "That fight was so COOL!"

The two teams were walking back on Beacon after a long day of matches, everyone feeling tired as all hell. Both teams had given their all and won hard earned victories as a result. Each team would move onto the next round, being represented by two instead of four. Team RWBY chose Yang and Weiss while JNPR chose Pyrrha and Nora.

The two teams headed back to their dorm rooms and waved each other goodbye, though Blake mentioned something to Ren which caused the two of them to walk off towards the cafeteria. Jaune paid them no mind as Nora entered their dorm. "Pyr?" he queried when he saw she was hesitant to enter their room.

"I just remembered" Pyrrha said slowly. "I needed to tell Blake something."

Jaune believed her without question and gave her his goofy smile. "Well alright. I'll-uh, we'll be here."

Pyrrha breathed a silent prayer of relief that Jaune's obliviousness had worked in her favor for ONCE during her entire time at Beacon. Her actual cause for having to leave was a secret Maiden meeting with Blake and Ren in Ozpin's office. This included terrifying individuals such as General Ironwood, Qrow and Professor Goodwitch.

"You did good today Jaune. I'm proud of you" Pyrrha spoke softly, holding Jaune's hand briefly before letting go.

"You think so?"

"I know so…."

Jaune smiled at her which made her heart leap and gave her the resolve to face a thousand Professor Ozpin's. _Guido Mista, thanks for the advice._ She would need resolve to win this fight and Jaune just have it to her. She waved goodbye as she went to meet with Ozpin.

Once inside the tower, she spotted Blake and Ren. She meekly waved her hand as she took a seat beside them.

"Ah, Miss Nikos. A pleasure to see you tonight after your stellar match. We have much to discuss about the Fall Maidens replacements. Have you or Blake made your choice yet?"

* * *

**The Next Day**

Once more, the crowds were blaring their excitement for the second round of the Vytal Tournament. Fan favorites included Team FNKI and JNPR, with Flynt Coal and Pyrrha Nikos as some of the all time most popular competitors. Team RWBY and Team JNPR, or rather, Ruby, Blake, Ren and Jaune, were watching their teammates and cheering them on. While they idly watched some of the earlier games, they really only paid attention when their teammates came up to fight.

First was Yang and Weiss against FNKI. The two didn't do a bad job at first, but they were being played with by Flynt and Neon. The first unleashed a furious wave of sound that threw both of them off guard, though Weiss kept herself up with her glyphs. Yang wasn't so lucky. She was thrown right into the urban biome while Neon ran rings around her. The Atlesian Trumpeter seemed to have it out for Weiss. Ultimately it was to be Weiss's downfall, despite her skill. Being tossed onto lava and knocking her aura down to a shocking 0% which made Ruby gasp in panic. "Weiss!"

Jaune himself was embroiled in a deep conversation in his mind with Diavolo. The soul that shared his body was intent on teaching him how to analyze different fighting styles and how to counter them with King Crimson. Some were simple, like skipping the moment Killer Quartet was used and leaving only its results. Some weren't so easy, like Weiss's glyphs.

_But if you could skip the moment she uses her glyph, she'll attack thinking she already summoned them?_

**It depends on the glyph, sweet Jaune. **

_By the way, why do you keep calling me sweet and cute? It's kinda weird. _

**A force of habit, my sweet Jaune. I did the same with your father…. **

Jaune shivered lightly. Gods, Diavolo was so weird sometimes, for a soul that had forced itself onto his families aura hundreds of years ago, that was.

His focus on Diavolo was broken when the cheering of his friends roared out. Quickly looking at the arena, he saw the rainbow explosions blasting Neon in the air. Flynt Coal had already been knocked out, leaving Yang Xiao-Long the winner and most likely to move onto the third round single elimination round. Jaune raised his arms to clap for Yang and Weiss, whooping his support as the contestants left the arena and the spectators went to greet their friends.

The teams celebrated together at the fairgrounds, eating copious amounts of noodles. Ruby was comforting Weiss, and Jaune swore he saw the two holding hands as tight as he and Pyrrha did. _Good for her_ he thought with a smile. His first friend at Beacon, his first friend, deserved someone to love.

_Wait. But I connected that to Pyrrha and I?_ He felt a deep blush creep on his face. Jaune knew Pyrrha wasn't here, getting ready for her fight alongside Nora, but still….

A day or so until he would tell her. No need to distract her with unnecessary baggage during her big fights! **Oh you're hopeless **Diavolo snided.

_Shut your mouth. At least I have a girl to want to ask out. _

Diavolo gave a metaphysical harumph and went silent. Jaune relished in his victory over his ancestor with noodles and a smirk. "What's got you so happy?" Blake asked from his left. Jaune, with a mouthful of noodles, pointed at his head and then gave a thumbs up. Blake understood at once. Diavolo must have been brooding inside Jaune's head. Frankly, the faunus girl couldn't even begin to comprehend sharing a second soul in her body, privy to her thoughts and speaking within her mind…

Though if Ozpin got what he wanted…. Well, either Pyrrha or her would be dealing with that…

The pressure of becoming the next Fall Maiden was mounting on both the girls, and even Ren had his sympathies for them. It was strange, how Jaune would be the only person in the world that could help them understand what it would be like, but couldn't be told for fear of what his other soul might do. Ren's findings made it very clear Diavolo had been after the Maidens for hundreds of years, though what he planned to do with them was not yet known. Given how the Maiden powers went from woman to woman, none of them knew how a man would seize the powers for himself as Diavolo seemed to want. That worried her.

Her concerns were broken away when she saw Ren and Ruby rising from their seats. Apparently, the next fight was starting, with Pyrrha and Nora against some members from Team BRNZ, their leader Brawnz Ni and May Zedong. Jaune kept a close eye on his teammates and cheered wildly when they were announced. The fight began in earnest soon after. Jaune kept his eye on Pyrrha the entire time. She was incredibly graceful. Like an angel of war, a goddess of victory making everything around her look like tiny ants before. During their team fight earlier, he truly didn't have time to notice her greatness in combat. Even before during duels in Goodwitches class or their rooftop training sessions...she had truly held back. The Jaune of then would have felt bitter. The Jaune of now was glad they were friends and… hopefully… they would be something more.

"Truly something, isn't she?"

Jaune heard a familiar voice come from his right side, a man he had seen before sitting down with his own team. Sitting next to him was Bruno Buccelatti, who only a day ago his opponent in the arena. The man gave him a simple and genuine smile. "Yea" he agreed. "She truly is."

Mista exploded into earshot suddenly, telling Narancia off. "Oi oi, oi! All I'm saying is that if teams were set up in threes or fives instead of fours, we would have won!"

Narancia groaned and shoved his head into his hands while Abbacchio rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. There were a pair of soda's in the little can holders of the seats that belonged to Narancia and Mista. "You know, I can tell with the way you look at her, you love her. Am I wrong?"

Jaune sighed and shook his head. He wasn't wrong. Was it that obvious? Was Pyrrha oblivious? Or did she know and was waiting for after the tournament to… either say yes or let him down gently. Mista snorted and elbowed Narancia. "So Trish's little brother has a crush on the champion?"

Jaune shrugged, but kept listening. Anytime people brought up his older sister, he would listen. "I guess I do. Ever since the dance. Crush is probably too small a word for it by now. I really… really hope she feels the same way I do."

Mista looked shocked. Was Trish's little brother this dumb? Where both he and his partner that oblivious to their feelings? "Well, given your resolve during the fight, I'd say you're a pretty good catch for any girl. Girls love resolve."

Narancia whispered something in Mista's ear that got him slapping his partner over the head all over again. With the two distracted and Abbacchio watching the match intently, no doubt copying things down with his Semblance for future use, Bruno and Jaune got to have some private time for discussion.

"I'm going to tell her how I feel after the tournament" he affirmed to both himself and Bruno. The leader of BGLG seemed to accept that plan, giving Jaune a nod of approval. The seemingly older man put a hand on his shoulder and patted it lightly. "You show resolve, Jaune. And desire. Those are two qualities of a true leader. A true huntsman. Your team is good, but you have to teach them that. To have the resolve to win. To have the desire for victory that is greater than your foe. Your desire and resolve was greater than mine, so victory belonged to you."

Jaune silently took Bruno's advice in. The horns announcing Pyrrha and Nora's victory was fairly swift, as everyone had expected. Bruno rose first, followed by Abbacchio and then Narancia and finally with Mista. "Take care, Jaune Arc" Bruno said and then began to leave the arena. Mista put a hand on Jaune's chest and gave him a smirk.

"Make sure to listen to Buccellati. He knows what he's talking about. Take care." With that, Team BGLG departed the stadium.

"Jaune?" he heard from behind him. It was Ren. The blond knight turned to face his friend. "We're heading out to celebrate Pyrrha and Nora's win. You coming with?" Jaune just nodded and put on a smile before following them out of the arena.

* * *

As expected, Pyrrha (as well as Yang) were moving onto the singles round.

However, that didn't really seem to matter much in the glow of the setting sun of Beacon Academy. Pyrrha Nikos was leaning on the shoulder of Jaune Arc, her beloved knight, as the pair sat down against the marble of a building in one of Beacon's courtyards.

His presence, his warmth. It was comfortable enough, soothing enough to free her from her worries Especially with the mounting pressure from Ozpin and Ironwood to make her choice on the Fall Maiden. Yes they had Blake as a backup but…. she didn't want to force it on the faunus girl. It wasn't her destiny…

Destiny….

She'd always believed in it. But recently that belief had been shaken. Pyrrha has her lovable blonde dork of a knight to thank for that. She didn't blame him, more so the entity that had decided to inflict his entire family line to hundreds of years of madness in order to seize the power of the Maidens. Jaune, or rather Diavolo's, Semblance would always show the future. Jaune had affirmed that whatever he saw WOULD occur, thought its interpretation often was in error. That's how his King Crimson knee when to skip time and avoid undesirable outcomes. It would only ever leave the results.

The manifestation of a soul that wanted to hide from responsibility. Not the manifestation of a pure soul like Jaune, who's aura burned bright white when she unlocked it for the first time. All the same, Epitaph was a shocking revelation that destiny was out of her hands. That it wasn't her final goal, but a true, predetermined path for her and everyone else.

"Do you believe in destiny, Jaune?" She asked out of the blue.

Jaune hummed idly for a moment, coming up with an answer (or maybe telling Diavolo off.) "I guess I do. What about you?"

Pyrrha didn't expect such an easy answer, nor did she expect it to be flipped on her that quickly. Still, she wouldn't turn tail. "I believe that destiny is… like a goal that you finally reach. Your final goal." _Like you. You're my final goal. _"Something everyone either expects of you or… something else…. But now… I don't know what my destiny is ..."

She pulled herself closer to Jaune. The blond knight let her in, his arm lightly reaching across her back to keep her close. Her heart beat hard. He was reciprocating again. Something he'd been doing more of.

"Well. Given my Semblance I kinda have to believe in the other kind of destiny ... but …That doesn't mean you can't achieve whatever goal that you want! Even the stuff that's expected of you!

Pyrrha felt her heart sink. He didn't even know what he had just suggested. For her to accept what everyone wanted her destiny to be. To become the Fall Maiden. "I… don't think…."

"Whatever it is Pyrrha, you can do it. I believe in you, just like you believe in me. Whatever destiny brings, we'll face it together."

Pyrrha felt herself cracking. She wanted to scream. What would it be like to have someone's soul forces inside of her? They said that she'd retain her distinct personality, but that was Diavolo's transfer system. What if this one was different? What if she never got to see anything of her old life again? What if she never got to see Jaune again.

"Pyr? You know you can tell me what's up?"

Pyrrha glanced away just in time to miss Epitaph activating. She turned around to find herself standing up, her arms outstretched and Jane standing next to her. "W-What?"

Then it hit her. Time skipped. Jaune had erased time. She felt a bit hurt he did, but wanted to know what he saw. "You used your Semblance on me" he admitted. "Or well you would have if I'd didn't skip past it."

She looked mortified. Why would she do that to Jaune? Why?

Jaune pulled her hands into his and looked down at her. "Whatever it is, we're partners. We'll do it together okay?"

Pyrrha nodded. They couldn't do this together and it broke her heart. "Okay" she lied.

"Uh… and Pyrrha… after the tournament… would you uh…." His voice began cracking, serious team leader Jaune fading away to usual, goody, nervous team leader Jaune.

"Yes Jaune?"

"Would you uh, ah…. want to go out after the tournament. To get something to eat. Maybe. I understand if you say no! But I-"

Pyrrha felt each and every fear fade away. No Fall Maiden. No tournament. Nothing. Just Jaune. Just her. On a date. _Finally. Finally he asked…._

Pyrrha brought a finger up to shush his lips. "That sounds grand."

"Really?"

"Yes Jaune" she giggled and began to walk, pulling Jaune with her hand. "I would love nothing more than to go on a date after the tournament."

Both their hearts jumped with joy.

_YES! _Jaune thought. He could admit his feelings fully for her, and ask her out officially to do that whole boyfriend girlfriend thing!

_Yes, yes, yes YES!_ Pyrrha thought. She could admit her love for him and ask him officially out to that whole boyfriend girlfriend thing!

Happiness seemed just on the horizon.

* * *

Happiness was very clearly not on the horizon. Things looked bleak for the festivities as earlier in the day during Yang and Mercury's fight. An… incident had left Mercury injured and Yang disqualified. Suffice to say, this late night fight between Penny and Pyrrha needed to bring everyone's spirits backup.

Team RWBY was mostly split up for the day, with Weiss and Blake having head back to the fairgrounds down below. Yang was back at the RWBY dorms, leaving only JNPR sans P to watch the match with Ruby. Who had just earlier seemed to have left the stands for some reason. Weird.

Jaune was sitting back comfortably with Ren and Nora to his right and once again, Bruno Buccelatti and his teammates on his left side. Despite having been opponents, both RWBY and JNPR found BGLG to be a pleasant bunch of students. It also helped that Team RWBY was practically drooling over them for being pop-stars.

Mista and Narancia were involved in some most likely inane banter, much like Nora and Ren if both of them were Nora. Bruno was particularly silent, sitting next to Abbacchio today. The taller man leaned over and spoke something to Bruno that Jaune couldn't quite hear, but he wasn't really focused on them anyways.

His eyes were on Pyrrha Nikos. _She's gonna win this whole damn tournament _he thought with glee. If anyone deserved it, it was her.

While Jaune sat watching, Diavolo was frantic. Keeping to himself, the soul of the ancient man wondered and wondered, when Cinder Fall would make her move. After overhearing countless meetings between her and her lackeys, he would have expected something beyond getting Yang disqualified….

Diavolo used Jaune's eyes to peer left and right. The benefits of sharing a body meant what he saw and what Jaune saw were both the same and distinct. It just depended on what each soul focused on. Diavolo noticed something almost at once. Someone was in the stands that shouldn't have been. Emerald.

**Jaune** he began, catching the attention of the boy.

_What? I'm trying to watch the match. It's about to start!_

**Look over there. Right over there. Tell me what you see. **

Jaune wondered what the heck Diavolo was talking about. Deciding to humor him, Jaune's gaze moved all the way to where Diavolo wanted it to go. _Wait… Emerald?_

**Perhaps this is what got Rose to leave her seat. Quickly! Jaune! Use Epitaph and see what's about to occur!**

"Right! Epitaph!" he said aloud, causing Bruno to look over and see his bangs float in the air. Though it wasn't much of a surprise to the other leader, having seen that during their fight. It must have been his Semblance, or at least part of it.

_Jaune saw Emerald activating her Semblance, causing what appeared to be… oh gods…._

_Jaune saw that Penny's floating daggers… multiplied… and multiplied… creating a veritable wall of daggers aimed at Pyrrha. It must have been an illusion done by Emerald, but it would fool Pyrrha into using her semblance to its maximum and ... tearing Penny apart?! She was a machine?!_

Jaune felt Epitaph deactivate. He had ten seconds. In the next ten seconds all of this was going to occur. Jaune jumped up from his chair and flared at Emerald, pushing his way through other fans in the crowds, much to their irritation. Emerald seemed to have caught on and lifted her hands to activate her semblance.

"King Crimson! Erase time!"

The stands fell apart and only the key player Jaune needed to see were shown in the world of erased time. He saw Emerald seemingly activate her semblance, but in the world of erased time, all movement was pointless! Only the results of her using her semblance would remain! The process would be skipped over, leaving only a Pyrrha and Penny who would have skipped completely over her illusions! Jaune was satisfied, and ended the erased time. To Emerald, the time in which her semblance was activated would have simply skipped over! She would have deactivated it without even knowing she did so!

Jaune was satisfied and time resumed, but..

He saw Pyrrha still activate her own semblance, but given the fact it was only a few floating daggers instead of an incalculable amount, she wasn't going full force. All the same, it wasn't a pretty sight. Jaune had turned just in time to see the arm of Penny Polidena torn off and tossed to the ground with a horrible crunching sound. Gasps ran through audience at looked like the apparent maiming of a student in the ring.

Professor Port and Oobleck attempted to cut the feed but it wasn't working. Someone… someone had taken control!

Diavolo chastised himself as the face of Cinder appeared on the giant screens that were meant for viewing the matches. She was probably on every T.V screen in every home watching the game too.

Jaune looked up in horror as Pyrrha stood simply stunned at her own actions. Penny was however, still alive, crawling towards her missing arm. Sparks occasionally flashed from inside her.

Jaune heard words coming from the woman on the screen, who looked like… she was from Haven! What the hell was she doing?

**Jaune Arc! **The voice of Diavolo echoed in his mind.

**Now is the time to fight! Her plan is finally begun! **

_What? What are you talking about? We have to_-

He never got to finish his thought process when a giant Nevermore smashed into the top of the stadium, causing panic in the crowds of spectators. _We have to save Pyrrha! _

**Jaune! No! We must find the Maiden and **

Jaune screamed in anger at Diavolo as he jumped into the arena and rushed towards Pyrrha.

In hindsight, maybe rushing in against a Nevermore wasn't such a bright idea. In fact, it probably would have been his last idea if it wasn't for Ruby Rose hurtling through the air with her semblance and stabbing the Grimm with one of Penny's swords. Or are they daggers? Jaune didn't care to find out.

Of course, one little stab to a Nevermore wouldn't just kill it… and their weapons were far, far away. Until they weren't. The sound of lockers crashing into the flesh of the Nevermore was a delight to the hunter in training.

He rushed over to recover Crocea Mors and his shield, and then turned to find that countless students were standing before him, all ready to fight the Nevermore.

One team however, did not wait for everyone else. Running forward was the four members of Team BGLG, with Bruno leading the charge. His fist launched forward like before and crashed right into Nevermore's chest, causing it to caw loudly. Jaune and Pyrrha rolled off to one side.

_Wait. What about the lockers?_

The last thing Jaune heard before he was knocked out was the sound of zippers and a man screaming "ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARIVEDERCHI!"

* * *

Pyrrha was distressed, to say the least. Things really weren't going her way right now. First, she'd nearly killed Penny and if not for Jaune's Semblance she probably would have. Next, that student from Haven, Cinder, had hijacked the CCT and begun what appeared to be an attack on Beacon. A giant Nevermore had almost killed her if not for the timely intervention of Jaune, Ruby and Bruno Buccelatti.

She'd never seen someone _unzip_ a Grimm to death before, but there was a first time for everything. The array of students were making their way towards the Bullheads, were General Ironwood told them they could leave or they could fight. Pyrrha wanted to fight, but she felt the call of destiny. She needed to find Blake and then get to Ozpin.

She felt Jaune brush up beside her inside the airbus. But what she expected, a simple squeeze to her hand for reassurance, never came. It was incredibly dark inside the bus, the vehicle roaring to life caused a flash of light briefly, illuminating their faces.

Pyrrha swore Jaune's blue eyes were green. But no. It must have been the light. That was all.

Things down at Beacon weren't much better. After touching down, the students started filling out only to find a practical warzone raging around them. Countless hordes of Grimm were roaming the streets of both the academy and Vale itself. Pyrrha jumped to take out one of the Grimm present near the Beacon CCT. Her eyes caught Ozpin near the tower, who gave her a look. Pyrrha then returned the same look to Ren who nodded.

It was time to make a choice. She saw that Jaune was using Epitaph to see one of his predictions. Assuming he could handle himself, she ran over to Ozpin alongside Ren. "We have to find Blake first! I'm not doing it without them!"

Ozpin shook his head and tried to get her to come with, but was met with a death glare. "If you want your Fall Maiden, you have to have all three of us!" This was her choice. Her obstacle to destiny. She wouldn't do it alone if she couldn't have Jaune with her, given the dangers of Diavolo. Ozpin relented and told her he had last seen Blake with Weiss in the fairgrounds, most likely they were back at Beacon by now.

"Then let's find her!" Ren shouted as he began to run towards the rest of Beacon with the headmaster and Pyrrha. Time was running short. All the way they had to fight off Grimm and White Fang soldiers as well as hijacked Atlesian Knights. It was a slog but they did find Blake and Weiss, one preparing to fight a Beowulf and the other an Atlesian paladin. "Blake!" Pyrrha shouted as she threw Milò at the Grimm, piercing it from behind as Ren blasted it with bullets. When Blake finally attacked, the beast had no chance. "Apologies Miss Schnee, but need to borrow your teammate for a matter of great importance!" Ozpin called out, at the same time dodging the swipe of another Grimm.

Weiss only grunted as the Atlesian paladin almost smashed her to bits. Blake did see her nod her agreement however and began to run back with the group.

_Wait_ she suddenly thought in confusion. They had crossed a part of the courtyard instantly. How could they… unless… no…

"Time just skipped!" Blake shouted, warning the rest of her party that Jaune just skipped time. "Where's Jaune? Where did you last see Jaune? It would have taken us at least ten seconds to cross the courtyard! At minimum!"

Pyrrha thought for a moment before realizing something terrible.

It wasn't her imagination when she saw Jaune's green eyes. Because they aren't Jaune's eyes. Because that wasn't Jaune. Jaune had been knocked out by the lockers back in the arena.

"Diavolo" she said weakly. He was here in full. And they had just left the Fall Maiden wide open for him.

* * *

_Meanwhile ... as Pyrrha and her companions were trying to find Blake…_

He finally found it. It was right beneath his nose. When Pyrrha Nikos jumped out of the airbus, he had used Epitaph to both lull her into false security and to see what was happening.

He saw in his bangs, the hairstyle he had chosen for Jaune, that Pyrrha and Ozpin would be running off to find the Belladonna girl. What was more important, however, was that he saw the image of Cinder Fall rushing towards the CCT. She already had control of it, so there would be only one reason for her to be going there.

**The Fall Maiden** he thought with glee. It would finally be his. The Maidens Requiem. Hundreds of years of searching and planning finally coming to fruition. He reached into the sheath of Crocea Mors and pulled out the aura transfer arrow. It was a long arrow with gold edges and a green body. A gold beetle caprice sat on the center of the arrowhead. He gripped it firmly and prepared for his requiem.

They were all in his world now. His court. Diavolo ran towards the CCT. Inside the tower, he eyed Mercury Black standing near the elevator as Cinder went down. **So he was fine the entire time? He will simply have to disappear** he thought with anger and fury. King Crimson materialized behind him and then dissipated. He needed a silent vector of attack to get the jump on him.

Epitaph activated and he saw that in the next ten seconds, several students would be running into the CCT to find cover and escape through one of the shattered walls of the tower, and that Mercury would be trying to hide from them by going out the way they came in. This was his path forward.

With a grin, Diavolo, or rather, 'Jaune' jumped into the crowd of students that ran in. As predicted, Mercury lowered his head and began to walk the opposite way towards the door. As the pack of students ran past him in terror, they jumped out of one of the broken windows of the tower.

Mercury noticed Jaune Arc among them. He smirked, figuring he would have been with the Nikos girl that he practically drooled over. No matter, the Grimm would probably get him la-

_CRUNCH_

The sickening sound of shattered bones and torn flesh reverberated throughout the blasted, broken floor by the elevator. Mercury felt blood pool from his mouth as he looked down. _Huh _Mercury thought as the arm that punched a hole straight through his chest pushed even further before ripping itself out and leaving a large circular hole in his chest. One could see behind Mercury through the hole. It wasn't a human fist that had done this, but the bloodied, red arm of a semblance. _But… it… was Jaune?_ Mercury thought as the boy that was Jaune was grinning behind him, flicking the blood of his semblances arm.

Mercury collapsed onto the ground as blood pooled around him.

It didn't sound like Jaune Arc when the boy spoke. It was that of a man. No, a devil. "Everyone has their ups and downs. But if one can predict their pitfalls and jump past them, they will always stay in their prime."

Mercury groaned in pain as he died, his eyes darkened as Diavolo walked to the elevator and began his descent to the Fall Maiden. Cinder Fall would be next.

And they would all be in his court.

The court of the crimson king.

* * *

**A/N: Probably the biggest chapter yet! Lots of stuff going down, like Team Buccelatti's cameo, my favorite thing in the world, Arkos, the beginning of the fall of Beacon and the beginning of the end of the first half of this story! Diaovlo faces down Cinder Fall! **

**There are already some changes as you can tell, with Penny NOT dying and Mercury being killed by Diavolo via donut. It's fun to finally have King Crimson let loose and really show off its destructive power against targets Diavolo wants to kill. **

**This was probably the most fun and most difficult one to write, with all the stuff happening in it! I really hope you guys enjoy it and I'd love to see your comments in the reviews! Positive, negative or otherwise!**

**I can't say how gracious I am to see how many people are reading and liking this story. I never dreamed of a 100 favorites and 148 follows! I never ever expected more than 15,000 viewers either! From the bottom of my heart, thank you! **

**Until next time! **


	9. Chapter 9: King of King's, Part 1

Pyrrha had never ran so fast in her life. Oh she was an athletic champion for sure, having run in countless marathons before. But they didn't have any real stakes beyond losing the race.

This was different. The stakes were not disappointed fans or sponsors, but lives. Perhaps even the fate of Remnant itself. So she ran. They ran. Even Ozpin kept pace with them despite his age. The four of them wished that they had Ruby's Semblance right about now. Everywhere they ran there was chaos of different degrees. Students, soldiers and staff alike fought with Grimm, the White Fang and Atlesian knights. Blake prayed that Adam wasn't here, but a flash of red in the distance proved he was. She had to ignore him. For the greater good.

With chaos and combat came casualties. The closer they got to the CCT tower the more bodies they saw. Dead or dying soldiers or students were strewn across the ground. There was no time to mourn the fallen, not yet at least.

"There!" she heard Ren shout with outstretched arms. It appeared that the CCT tower was practically cleared out of most students and Grimm, though there was plenty of combat still going on.

"It doesn't look like anyone else is heading for the CCT!" Blake said to her companions, though looks could be deceiving.

"Keep your eyes open!" Pyrrha replied as she jumped through the broken door of the CCT tower. Miló and Akouo were in her hand ready face any Grimm, White Fang or Atlesian knights. Nothing would keep her from destiny. And nothing would keep her from Jaune.

"It doesn't look like there's anyone here-" Ren said before stopping in his tracks. Pyrrha heard the distinct sound of her teammate vomiting and then saw the reason why. Blake looked away immediately and headed towards the elevator, but only got halfway before she too emptied the contents of her stomach. Only Pyrrha and Ozpin held their resolve.

Lying face down in a pool of drying blood was a dead Mercury Black. His legs were clearly fine but his chest had a circular hole punched straight through it. The blow was not from any Grimm nor from the technology of Atlas. One could look right through it and see the ground past the drying, red walls of his internal organs.

This was the work of one thing only.

Diavolo and his Semblance. King Crimson.

Pyrrha gripped her spear so tightly it might have snapped. She knew Mercury was a bastard and probably was working for Cinder, given how his legs were just fine. But even after what he did to Yang he didn't deserve this. No one did.

"Let's go" Pyrrha all but ordered. "We have to stop Diavolo and Cinder before it's too late."

Both Ren and Blake nodded, the former pushing himself off his knees with a new determined look. _He said resolve. Bruno said I needed to have resolve. Resolve and desire. Desire for victory!_

They walked to the elevator and began their descent.

* * *

_As Pyrrha and co were returning….._

Cinder Fall was having a very good evening. A very good evening indeed. Firstly, she had stopped a festival dedicated to peace, started the largest Grimm invasion known to man, overrun both Beacon Academy and much of Vale as well as hijacking an entire Atlesian droid army along with their airships. Secondly, she was about to take the remaining power of the Fall Maiden for herself without even a show of defense from Ozpin and his lackeys.

It paid good to be bad.

Her steps were calculated, cold and precise. Each made an echo in the long and winding hallway that led to the aura transfer machine and the comatose body of Amber. _Soon you'll be nothing but a corpse. I wonder, will it be any different for you? _Cinder wasn't sure if an afterlife existed, as Salem told her quite little on the matter, but if it did, then she was perfectly fine with sending Amber to it.

She had planned to strike with her bow from afar to steal her quarry's powers, but she settled on doing it up close and personal. To see the life sucked out of her as her awesome powers flowed into the one truly deserving of them. _Me. I've waited so long for this. I'll be like a Queen. No, a goddess. _

That empty, lingering, dark feeling in her soul would be finally filled. That little gnawing desire to reunite her piece of power with the rest was so great she could barely contain it anymore. She needed the Fall Maiden's powers now! Now! Now! Now!

_Step._

In a flash she snapped her head around and narrowed her eyes. _Have I underestimated Ozpin's speed? _she wondered. It wouldn't be much of a problem once she got what she came for, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

"Who's there? Come to try and stop me, Ozpin?" Cinder snarled out as she scanned the dark corners and the pillars. Finally her sight settled on the way she had came, the straight hallway that led from the elevator. _There. _

She hears another step as the figure drew closer. Cinder looked closer and saw that it didn't look to be Ozpin…. it was… it was….

_The blond idiot? _

How incredibly lucky she was to have such a worthless fool come to stop her. _Though, how did he get past Mercury?_ she wondered. If he had been distracted, she'd make him answer for it. The boy, Jaune Arc, seemed to be walking near the pillars at his end of the hallways, the sound of his armor and sword being the only other noise in the Vault besides his stepping.

"I admire your bravery, boy. But it won't save you."

The blond knight simply looked up at her and for a moment she felt a chill. Cinder saw the flashing red aura around him and the brief appearance of a floating, angry semblance behind him. When the boy spoke, he said a few words before moving towards the nearest pillar, much to Cinder's confusion. She thought the fool would try a direct assault and be killed instantly.

"**This… is a test…"** his voice was boyish, as it sounded just like Jaune.

But then, he erased time. The world around him shattered and flew off, leaving only the floor and the pillar he was walking behind visible to himself.

"**I've accepted this test to stand victorious against my past."**

Diavolo effortlessly tossed off the pieces of armor on his shoulder and body, alongside the weapons of Jaune Arc. His arms crossed into an X as he reached to pull his shirt over his head. Diavolo continued speaking as he moved past the pillar. Even though Cinder wouldn't have even heard it. His voice drastically changed as he took his _true _form. It became deeper and more adult, darker and more firm.

"**A person grows once they are able to defeat their weaker self." **

Diavolo shook his once tied up hair loose and let it fall as it was hundreds of years ago. The man stepped out from behind the pillar and back in the hallway in Cinder's sight. Then time resumed. Cinder was still looking at where he had started walking from before realizing he had moved past the pillar, or rather, someone did. Jaune had disappeared and in his place was a totally different man.

"**Wouldn't you agree, Cinder Fall?" **

A man who knew her name and most likely knew what she wanted. He… he looked familiar… she'd seen him before! He didn't have blond hair but Salem had shown her an image of a man that looked exactly like the one several feet away from her! "You're… you're…."

"You're Diavolo!"

For the first time, she had shock in her voice and felt for a brief moment fear. Nothing at Beacon scared her, but this? This was an unknown variable.

The man named Diavolo was tall and fairly muscled. He had long, blond hair, leopard-patterned with various spots, parted in a zig-zagging manner; the bangs of which were propped and parted slightly to the side. The rest of his hair was cut straight across at his shoulders. His 'shirt' looked like it was complex mesh-wiring: it covered his shoulders and torso but down his back and abdomen were linked circles that were tucked under his belt, which in the back ended two to three long "coat tails". On his arms, there were elegantly designed floral sleeves leading down to a pair of wristbands. His pants were the same pair of studded pants and seemingly sock-less loafers. His back was slightly hunched as he looked at her.

His eyes were the most unique pair she'd ever seen, as his irises looked "fragmented", forming as spots and shards of whole irides with a triangular shaped highlights to them.

All that was missing was the pink hair from the painting Salem showed her. _What's he saying? That this is a test and that I should agree? How the hell did he get there? Where the hell did that boy go?_

"You… you stay there. Where did that idiot knight go?" She demanded. _No. I'm wasting time. He must be trying to stop me from getting the Maiden powers. _Cinder began to slowly walk backwards before breaking into a run towards the aura transfer machine.

When she looked back she saw Diavolo in a full sprint before she saw himself appear instantaneously closer. _His Semblance must be close range. It's got to have some sort of special trick to it too! He keeps jumping around places like that! _Cinder knew she was going to have to fight for her right, her destiny.

"**I don't care where you go, so long as it's below me in Hell!"** Diavolo shouted as the pair reached the end of the hallway by the aura transfer machine. Cinder raised her sword to deflect the first blow by Diavolo. His aura flashed red as his semblance appeared and threw a bone cracking fist at her. She blocked it but felt it's force slam through her arm. _He must be just testing before using his power! I have to be smart! I have to get the Maiden powers. _

She noticed an arrow in his hands, and immediately thought of her own bow. _Does he mean to try and get the power through that? Fool. He'll just give it to me if he kills her!_

Diavolo jumped back to stare her down, his Semblance standing by him. Cinder herself didn't dare move a muscle. Their breath was measured and their focus laser sharp. Both fully intended to win this fight.

_Your move, Diavolo!_

* * *

He watched her with hungry eyes. Her aura was strong and her skill was far more than anyone else's at this academy. Diavolo wagered he wouldn't be able to just plow through her aura in a moment of weakness like he did with Mercury. No, he'd have to do it the hard way.

He was going to have to beat her down until he could finish her off. The man gritted his teeth in annoyance and activated Epitaph. _He saw in his bangs Cinder Fall launching superheated dust crystals towards him as he ran to attack her_.

Diavolo grinned and in a flash he lunged towards her. "**The power of the Maiden is mine and mine alone!" **

Cinder glared daggers at him before shooting the dust crystals he foresaw from her cloak. The superheated things were nearly on fire as she launched them. "All you'll get is death down here! I don't care who you are, but the power of the Fall Maiden is my destiny!"

Diavolo activated King Crimson and saw the trajectory of the dust crystals smashing into one of the pillars nearby. Grinning as he sidestepped them and stuck his semblances arm out for an attack, he ended erased time.

The dust crystals to Cinder seemed to have instantly crashed into the pillars behind Diavolo, who in turn was bringing down an open palm strike from his Semblance right into her. She had a half second of time before it stuck and only just brought her sword up to deflect his attack. This time she took the initiative and swiped at Diavolo, catching a bit of his aura as she did.

King Crimson erased time once again during the next slash she made. Having predicted it with Epitaph, Diavolo watched the forecasted movements move through his chest and end up right by his head. When the actual sword ended up there he prepared by hovering King Crimson's hand by Cinder's wrist before time resumed. Cinder looked clearly confused, never having dealt with time skipping before. Diavolo took advantage of her confusion to grab her wrist with one hand and pulling her forward. King Crimson's other fist met her face and he felt the contact of aura against it.

Cinder grunted as she fell to the ground. _Too easy _Diavolo thought smugly, raising another open palm to bring down into her back. Cinder however spun around on the ground and cut right into his legs, causing him to trip backwards into the ground. Diavolo jumped back up to see Cinder firing a rapid fire barrage of arrows from her bow at him. He used Epitaph quickly to see where she would go next. His prediction showed her moving in and out of the pillars shadows before jumping sword first towards him.

Using his ten seconds of erased time he prepared a plan to deal with her once she remerged. **She's fast. I'll give her that. I hardly have time to use Epitaph and predict her movements! I have to end this fight quickly! I have to keep her away from that machine!**

Diavolo then saw the red trajectory of her movements, the woman unconsciously acting out what she would have done. **Shit! I'm not in range! Time, resume! **

To Cinder, it felt like she had moved to her right and then appeared behind Diavolo, skipping the entire process of running through the pillars shadows.

_Skipping. Skipping… is that his Semblance? Making things skip forward. Through time? What incredible power…. _

Cinder quickly began to formulate a plan to try and defeat, if not neutralize her opponent's strength. _It seems like he can predict my actions, but not for long and not specific ones…. _

Even as she thought up a plan, she was being attacked. Diavolo must have skipped time as he was here, right in front of her and in her way. He seemed to not want her to get closer to the machine. Cinder narrowed her eyes as the familiar clash of steel-like fist met her sword. Diavolo's Semblance, which was apparently named King Crimson from what she heard him say, was filled with anger. He kept punching towards her, Cinder taking time to dodge each one before returning his bone breaking punches with swift, sharp jabs of her blade.

King Crimson responded by throwing two thick fists at Cinder. He knew he was closer to breaking her aura with each punch that connected. Her strikes were less likely to hit and she knew it. His knee came up but was blocked by her sword. Sweat was glistening off her forehead as she strained to keep him from kicking her. There was a truly distorted smile on the angry face of King Crimson as he broke her concentration with a solid fist to the face, causing blood to trickle down her mouth. She wiped it away with a swift swipe of her clothing. Her eyes were analyzing the battle for anything she could use before Diavolo attacked again. He refused to give her moments to breathe.

Diavolo unleashed a swift beat-down barrage, landing three hits on her before erasing time and jumping as she lunged forward to try and counter him. Time resumed and he was behind her. Cinder was taken by surprise and felt a crushing blow hit her back. Her furious response however took Diavolo back. Three dust crystals stabbed into his hand from her kneeling position, faster than he could predict or erase time. In that moment, Cinder spun quickly, thrust upwards to slam the butt of her blade into his nose before spinning into a kick that threw him back. Diavolo erased the moment he hit the ground however, and was standing up still. When he looked back up, a hand holding his head, he felt and saw her heels crashing into his face with an audible crack and stepping back on the ball of her feet, lightly bouncing.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Cinder taunted as she raised her sword at him, beckoning him forward.

"**You're nothing but worthless trash! I am the king above all kings!" **he shouted in pure rage. He had expected an easy victory. But she was crafty and swift. Usually his blows were fast enough but she just a second faster. Even King Crimson wasn't giving him the edge he needed. He didn't doubt he could win, but he was running out of time! **My only option is to take the arrow and take what I need! King Crimson!**

"The only ruler-"

Cinder stepped forward and found herself in the middle of the hallway again.

"-the one who wins" Cinder's words had skipped to their very end, much to her annoyance..

She knew for certain he could manipulate time. But how to tell exactly when? There was only one way. Cinder saw that Diavolo was hiding now, perhaps waiting for the right moment to catch her with her aura unprepared. The woman turned to face the aura transfer machine and began to slowly step towards her. Bringing her free hand to her face, she grit her teeth and bit down at her fingernail hard. She felt the piercing bite of her teeth, drew her aura away from healing the wound and then moved her now bleeding finger to hover above her sword hand.

One blood droplet. Two blood droplets. Three blood droplets.

"There you are!"

Seven blood droplets were on her hand as she swung her sword in a large arc. Panting as she looked around, she finally heard blood spilling. Looking up near the aura transfer machine, she saw Diavolo kneeling, clutching his arm. Along his left forearm was a cut that leaked blood. Her plan had worked.

"**Expertly time… in fact a few meters and I would be bleeding to death... however…. you lack foresight to see what my intentions truly were!"** He stated boldly, letting her see what he was doing. There, in the open tube, was the arrow he had, and it had pierced Amber. Something seemed to be going on as aura looked to be… sucked into the arrow? Diavolo began to laugh in the echoing halls of the Beacon vault. His laughter was eerie. It was maniacal and filled with an almost childlike glee

"**Cinder Fall, you weak little newcomer! This means you aren't a worthy vessel of the Maiden's power!"**

Cinder's eyes widened. She was out of time. She needed to end this fight and end it now! She morphed Midnight into its bow form and prepared one last ditch effort to take what was hers. Diavolo seemed to have stopped caring about her presence, most likely reveling in what he thought was his final victory. She was going to take a trick from his book. So he could predict her actions. That was fine. She was counting on it. _Let's see if you have the foresight to understand what I'm going to do! This is my only chance! _

Cinder pulled back her arrow and fired.

* * *

Diavolo no longer cared to fight his foe. Any attack she made would be seen by Epitaph at this range and erased. He'd won. After hundreds of years he has finally one. Once he'd drained every last bit of the Maidens aura left in her broken body, he'd pierce himself and gain a requiem of his own. All his studying, all his theories ... an evolved semblance…. King Crimson Requiem….

As he knew she would attack, he felt Epitaph activate to show him the future.

_He saw Cinder pull back her arrow and fire one solitary shot towards his back, hoping to smash into his neck for a killing blow. The arrow was shown to hit him yes, but…._

**If it was anyone else, it might have worked! But I am Diavolo! I will be king, as I always have been! KING CRIMSON!**

Time was erased, everything dissipating bar Cinder and her flying arrow. Diavolo turned his head to see the red trajectory fly through the air and pass through him. He was intangible. He existed outside of fate as its master! He controlled it all, leaving only the results! Only the results!

**Fool. Once I'm done here I'll kill you and then march out of this vault a god. I'll… wait… what is this?**

As the arrow passed through him he saw the trajectory ... heading straight for the Fall Maiden! The red glow showed the arrow hitting her and killing her. "**No! NO! Not in my moment of glory! TIME, RESUME!"**

But it was too late. The arrow pierced the throat of Amber, the Fall Maiden. Her dying gasps echoed out briefly before she went limp. Then he saw it. Aura. Energy. Power. The Fall Maiden's power….

Was her's…. He saw it twirl in the air, heading not to his arrow but into the body of Cinder Fall. She must have been the last thought on the ex-Maidens mind! Not even skipping time would help him here! He… he had lost! His ultimate victory snatched out of his hands! **How could this happen? TO ME? I'm DIAVOLO! DIAVOLO! I CAN'T POSSIBLY BE BEATEN LIKE THIS! I WAS WINNING THE FIGHT! **

Diavolo snatched up his arrow in a rage. King Crimson's former gleeful face was replaced with an even angrier one than usual. In a rage, his Semblance angrily smashed the aura transfer machine into pieces. Diavolo slammed his large fists into the shattered glass and metal before turning his head to see Cinder twitching, powerful aura surrounding her as her eyes started to quite literally go up in flames.

She had a wicked smirk.

Diavolo felt fear. For the first time he wondered if his invincible King Crimson would be able to defeat a foe. This was supposed to be his test. His test to defeat his weaker self, the one that perished at the hands of Salem hundreds of years ago. **No! This cannot be it! I am Diavolo! **

"To be completely honest ... if the fight kept going you probably would have won. I think…. I'm going to enjoy this, very much."

She dropped her blades and let the Magic course through her. Out of pure heat, a sword formed, one that was longer and more cruel looking than before. Raising her arm she pointed at him. Or more specifically, the arrow. "You have something that belongs to me…."

**The arrow must still have some of the Maiden's power! I just have taken at least a quarter! She must have the rest! Enough to fully become a Maiden. I don't know what will happen if I pierce myself with this little magic. I'll probably be killed! No. I have to retreat for now! **

Before Diavolo could move, he activated Epitaph and saw something he would truly be grateful for. If he had ran too early he would have never seen this vision. "**I thank you ... if it were not for your words I would have ran without any idea of what to do!" **

His laughter was maniacal once again, air wheezing out of him in glee.

_Rushing out of the elevator into the vault was Ozpin and his band of foolish teenager students. _

It wasn't a long prediction, but one he needed. He braced himself for her attack, and it came in the form of more dust crystals, this time made out of pure magic. The elements themselves bent to her will. But magic or not, actions could still be erased.

"**King Crimson!"**

When time resumed, Cinder was standing where Diavolo had been, turning to see the man running towards the elevator. She smirked as he did, seeing Ozpin and his students there too. _Perhaps he is like that blond fool, come to stop me. _

Cinder began to stroll her way down the hallway, taking her time to truly let her new powers settled into her body. She still wanted that last quarter of power, having at least three/fourths of it was not enough in the end. She wanted it all, even if she didn't need it.

They would all bow to her. She was their queen. Their goddess.

* * *

The first thing Pyrrha saw made her heart sink. On the floor behind one of the pillars was Jaune's armor, clothing and weapons. She feared the worst until she saw a long haired, blond man running towards them. She pulled her weapons up, as did her friends, until she realized who it was. "Jaune?" she called out.

He didn't respond, instead, jumping over what looked like a dust crystal flying through the air. The object smashed into the wall behind them, the man landing on his feet before rising. "You're…." Pyrrha heard Blake say in awe and terror.

"Diavolo!" Ren exclaimed alongside the cat faunus. The object of their research, Jaune's second soul, was in front of them and in control.

_Oh no! He's hot! _

Pyrrha almost slapped herself. THAT was the first thing she thought of? Not about the Maiden, not about Cinder or Jaune. But that?!

_Well it's still Jaune's body. So it's Jaune who's looking fine…. Snap out of Pyr!_

Ozpin broke her distracted thoughts with one simple question. "The Fall Maiden?" His voice was filled with the utmost of urgency. It was do or die. The head of his cane was gripped so tight that Blake worried it might have broken.

Diavolo shook his head. He might as well play nice if it gave him another shot at getting the Maidens power from Cinder. "**You have a new Fall Maiden"** he explained, before looking at the two girls. "**And it's not them."**

All three students paled. They… they didn't make it in time? They'd failed? Amber was dead. The Fall Maiden was dead and her powers belonged to the one person they shouldn't belong to. Even Diavolo would have been better in the end! Their eyes looked up to see that woman from earlier seemingly stroll towards them, like they were nothing more than an eventual nuisance to be dealt with at a later time. Like they weren't even worth the time to run for.

Ozpin stepped forward with his weapon, The Long Memory. Cinder smirked at him. He was her true foe. Not some blond haired fool with an admittingly impressive semblance. "Go. Now." the Headmaster commanded. "Get Glynda. Qrow. Ironwood. This tower must not fall."

"But-"

"NOW!" he shouted with an intensity they'd never seen before. Well, the students at least. Diavolo had seen much worse from the wizard. Not that he'd let them know. **Let him die another death. He is just as responsible for my first downfall as Salem! **Hopefully he'd weaken the Fall Maiden a bit before she came after him.

Pyrrha only nodded weakly before turning to head for the elevator. Then she stopped. Snapping around she sued her semblance to forcibly move Jaune's armor and weapons into Diavolo's hands. The polarity gave him no choice, the armor sticking to his chest and shoulders, the sword and shield to his belt. "You. You don't leave those." Her voice was cold and filled with distrust. She didn't like him. Not. One. Bit. "You share his body, so you will _respect_ the one you share it with!"

Before Diavolo could say anything, he fell to one knee. "Come on Pyrrha! We have to go!" He heard the black haired boy say. Ren, was it?

"**No… he can't… he can't possibly be taking control back. No Arc has ever forced me out without me relinquishing control! Me? He's forcing me back? I'm… Diavolo… I…."**

His eyes rolled back into his head before he went limp. Pyrrha lunged to the man's side, worried not for him, but the other soul he shared a body with. "Jaune!" The Champion cried out as Ozpin and Cinder broke into a tremendous duel of power. She didn't even care. Right now Jaune was the most important thing in the world. Turning his body over from its face down position, she held him in her arms before his eyes shot open.

They were blue. Light blue.

Jaune was back.

"Awwwwhhhh…." he groaned as he rubbed his head. "My head hurts so much…. Er…."

He quickly looked around. Where the hell was he? Why was he not wearing a shirt. Why was his hair so long and DID DIAVOLO ACTUALLY WEAR THAT WIRE MESH LINGERIE? Wait. Was he in Pyrrha's arms?

If this was any other situation, he'd have been elated. Right now, he wanted to know why there was green and red flashing in his face and why his Headmaster was dueling with that Cinder woman. Wait. Cinder. Right! She was behind this! She was evil!

"Pyrrha?" he said groggily, his senses coming back to him. She looked incredibly happy for a situation that did not elicit happiness. The two rose from the ground and headed to the elevator with Blake and Ren.

Ren saw his leader was back from Pyrrha's face and gasped before breaking into a smile. As the elevator ascended, he hugged the man that was like his brother. "I'm glad you're still with us, Jaune."

The knight smiled but looked confused. "I'm glad too. Uh, Pyr ... where would I have gone?"

Blake just rolled her eyes before smiling and hugging her friend. He was back. Pyrrha held him closer than the others however. "I'll explain everything. Come on."

* * *

They were outside the CCT, seeing the Wyvern up at the top of the tower. They needed a plan as they huddled by the crashed student locker. It was apparent now that Ozpin…. Ozpin had lost….

His last order was to prevent the CCT from falling. To Pyrrha, that meant fighting.

Fighting a Maiden….

It wasn't a battle she expected to win.

"What do we do?" Blake asked, but no one had an answer. All around them there was chaos. Whatever that Cinder woman had done…. they had to stop her.

Jaune, ever the strategist, stepped forth like a general commanding his troops. There was power in his stance and words, more sure and confident of himself in this arena compared to that of combat. "Blake, Ren, you two go and get Professor Goodwitch and General Ironwood. Tell them that woman is at the tower!"

"And what will you two do?" Ren asked. Pyrrha looked at him with the same question in her eyes. What were they going to do?

Jaune bit the bottom of his lip. They couldn't fight her. Diavolo fought her and didn't come out on top, even if he didn't lose the fight technically. Fighting her was suicide…. no, they needed to find their friends. "We're going to find Weiss and Ruby. Blake, if you can find Yang that would be great. Same thing for Nora, Ren. But only after you get some help!"

The two looked like they were going to protest, but one flare from King Crimson convinced them otherwise. They nodded and broke into a run to try and find some semblance of help in this madness.

Pyrrha finally found the full attention of Jaune, his still long hair blowing in the wind. He stood in front of the weapons locker, giving Pyrrha an idea….

She swore she would protect him. It was from Diavolo then, but now it was Cinder. This was her destiny, wasn't it? To defend the world as a huntress was meant to. Even at the cost of her own life. _Not his. I won't risk his._

"I'm going up there" she said plainly, leaving nothing to the imagination as Jaune's blue orbs widened. Pyrrha felt herself shake internally. She saw the panic in his eyes.

"No. You can't!" he blurted out. Pyrrha looked away and up towards the tower were the wyvern lay to roost. Her resolve grew. _Resolve and desire. _Jaune was silent for a good ten seconds before speaking again.

"Pyrrha! You can't go. I won't let you! You can't-"

The amazon committed herself to her plan. She'd do what she should have done ages ago and send him off to safety. He wouldn't get hurt. He would live.

Pyrrha swung herself around to kiss him, only to find herself in the same place. Except she was the one being kissed by Jaune. Her momentary confusion melted into the most wonderful feeling in the world as she felt Jaune pull her, and she pulled him. They only let go when they needed breath.

"Pyr…. Epitaph…. remember?..."

_Oh. Right. _

The fact Jaune could see and then erase her actions had both gone by her completely and somewhat perturbed her. She never really had been directly affected by his Semblance before. She'd never had her actions erased. Jaune was holding her hands in his as he looked into her eyes. There was pain there. To him it must have looked like she, like everyone else, truly didn't believe in him. Even if it wasn't the case. "If you're going. I'm going too. We're partners, remember?"

Pyrrha looked away, feeling ashamed, angry, guilty, scared and all the countless other emotions that were washing through her. He couldn't come. Shouldn't come. He'd be killed. She couldn't allow that.

Pyrrha felt his hand on her shoulder. His fingers rubbed her gently, with a softness and love that seemed to be just for her. "You were the only one to believe in me. The first. You believed in me then. Believe in me now?"

Her breath hitched as he spoke those words. Her lips quivered as she felt the ghost of his on hers. Pyrrha looked up at him and nodded.

She would trust him. She would believe in him. His talent as a leader and his powerful Semblance. Besides…. there were worse things in the world than dying with the one you love. "After the tournament" he blurted out of nowhere. "I was going to tell you how I felt after the tournament."

Pyrrha felt a redness creeping up her face, even during this mad battle, and the one they were about to face. Her fear was met with her joy. He HAD truly felt the same way.

"Funny" she finally breathed out. "I was going to do the same thing…"

Jaune cupped her cheek with his hand. "I guess now's as good a time as ever. Yea. I love you. Like a lot."

_Wow. Way easier than I expected. _

Pyrrha's heart skipped as she gave the same answer back likewise. "I guess we're a thing now? I've never really had a boyfriend before."

"Well, I've never really had a girlfriend before….."

Pyrrha weakly chuckled. It was one out of both joy and despair. This was destiny. If she had to die tonight, then let it be by the side of her love. Let it be in defense of the innocent.

"Then let's go. We can learn together afterwards."

_If we make it…_ Jaune thought as he ran with her towards the CCT tower and the ruins of the elevator. Jaune felt his scroll ring in his back pocket, surprised that it wasn't even broken from all the fighting. As Pyrrha used her semblance to rocket them up to the top of the tower, he answered.

"Jaune?!"

He heard the frantic voice of Weiss Schnee and the sound of her glyphs firing off in the background. "Weiss?" he repeated back to her.

"Where are you?! Ren and Nora are here and he says that you two were supposed to come find us?!"

Jaune gulped as he explained to her. "Pyrrha and I uh… are sorta ... going up to fight that lady."

Weiss was silent for a few moments before he swore he heard her even without the scroll. "You two are doing WHAT?!"

_Defending the ones we love. The one I love. _

**Seizing what is ours. Taking what is by rights mine! **

Diavolo was still there it seemed. Bummer. He definitely seemed to have a bone to pick with Cinder. Jaune heard his scroll's connection weakening as they reached the top. "Jaune! Jaune stay where you are, we're coming!"

It was the last thing he heard before the device went dead and the pair were staring down the Fall Maiden in all her wickedness.

"I'm surprised. I expected her to be stupid enough to try something… but you?"

Jaune unsheathed Crocea Mors and his shield in an instant, as Pyrrha did the same with Miló and Akouo. This was it.

This was do or die against the Fall Maiden, who seemed to create a sword out of thin air, flames gathering to create steel in her grasp. Her eyes burned with hate and literal flame. Even the ground cracked around her with heat, each little motion causing a shimmer in the air.

The wyvern roared as the two teens looked at each other, staring deep into one another's eyes.

There were certainly worse people to die besides. Doing it with the one you loved, your new girlfriend as of less than five minutes ago, wasn't bad at all, Jaune thought.

But Jaune felt a fire within him. He heard Diavolo. He wasn't going to die here. She wasn't going to die here….

He was the king of kings, just as Diavolo said he was.

The true king above all. The CRIMSON KING.

"What's the plan Jaune?" he heard Pyrrha say. Jaune looked right and then left as he formulated a plan.

"You're right, I'm left. Keep moving."

Pyrrha nodded an acknowledgment of his plan. It would work. It had to work. She believed in him. He believed in her. They were partners and they work as they always had together, like a well oiled machine.

Jaune dashed to the left, Pyrrha to the right, weapons raised high as Cinder Fall threw herself forward, swords in hand with the intention to kill.

_To be continued…._

* * *

**A/N: So approaches the final climax of the first half of this story. Diavolo clashes with Cinder, Cinder becomes the Fall Maiden, though Diavolo has some of the Maidens power in his arrow as well. Jaune and Pyrrha face down Cinder. Things will be very exciting in the next chapter, with a new character being teased at the end that will help drive forward the next half of this story all the way to its conclusion. **

**Some people may ask how Cinder "beat" King Crimson and the answer is, she didn't. She would have lost the fight if Diavolo kept going. Luckily for her, Diavolo only cares about the results and is willing to take shortcuts to achieve what he wants. Cinder firing her arrow with the intention to kill Amber is much like Diavolo not predicting Bruno destroying Chariot Requiem, or Spice Girl rubberizing the bullets in his hand. Diavolo only predicts that Cinder is firing an arrow at him that will hit him and interprets it as an attack, not a plan to kill Amber. You might also ask, why didn't he just kill Cinder then go for the Maiden? The same reason he didn't just kill Bruno and Mista after knocking out Gio and Trish. He wanted the arrow. **

**Now she's the Fall Maiden. Diavolo is out of control but very much wants Jaune to take payback. We'll see what happens next time. Someone in the reviews also postulated that Diavolo will be the big bad. Yes and no. He's the villain of this story, but so is Cinder, and she'll become the main villain more so in the next half of the story. Diavolo and Cinder will both be dealt with by the end. **

**On a final note, I don't think I've commented on V7 being announced. There's not much else to say beyond being excited, as I love this show and it's wonderful characters, warts and all. Jaune's new hair is growing on me. **

**Until next time! **


	10. Chapter 10: King of Kings, Part 2

A fireball smashed into one of the shattered steel support pillars in Ozpin's former office room. The metal buckled as the super-heated ball of fire spread flame around it until the metal gave a cry of sorrow and collapsed on itself. It brought down another hail of steel bars and concrete walls, raining down on anyone unfortunate enough to be beneath the CCT tower. Shards of shrapnel were blasted inwards as well, being avoided by all three of the combatants.

Jaune Arc rolled underneath a triple barrage of flaming dust that nearly burnt him up as he did so. His shield clacked against the messy and littered ground, protecting him from the steel jutting up as well as giving him a smooth way to roll. He pulled himself back up with his shield in front just in time to take two more.

He lowered his protective device to take a look at their battlefield. Pyrrha connected another slash with Miló's sword form, catching Cinder's blade mid-air before going in for a shield bash. Cinder leaped back with ease. It must have felt like a game to her. Jaune lunged in with Crocea Mors to try and get a stab in to try and get pressure off of Pyrrha, But was easily blocked and forced back. The two had been fighting for at least a few minutes now and it was starting to strain them.

While Pyrrha had been using her semblance liberally throughout the fight, taking advantage of all the metallic debris that was laying everywhere, Jaune had to be more careful in his use. If he used King Crimson too much he would exhaust himself and be unable to continue the fight. That would doom both of them.

So he had to use it only when he was certain he needed to skip time. Pyrrha repeated a stabbing action twice from behind the protection of her shield, getting a good hit or two on her aura. Jaune activated Epitaph to see two arrows coming from behind him within the next three seconds and shouted "King Crimson!" when he knew he couldn't roll out of the way. The CCT fell apart and Jaune gazed at the trajectory of her arrows flying past him. Jaune also looked at the two women and their own trajectory. Cinder's red image was showing her completely still while Pyrrha was moving to the right. Jaune positioned himself in between her and Cinder as time resumed.

Pyrrha ran towards a pile a broken steel frames and launched several long, jagged pieces of broken metal towards Cinder, though she easily shrugged them off. In response she launched fire balls at the Amazon, who took them with her shield.

As Jaune ran towards Cinder, sword in hand and shield ready to defend himself, he saw three fireballs heading his way. Having no choice but erasing time, he dodged all three and used the last second of his erased time to reposition himself for a strike at Cinder's neck. The blade connected but her aura simply took it before she spun around, hovering lightly as she did. Her fists threw streaks of fire into his chest, burning flesh with steel as he felt his chest piece melt.

He screamed in agony and fell to his knees before just barely rolling out of a new fire blast.

Pyrrha had heard Jaune's scream of pain and threw Miló towards Cinder in its spear form, which she easily caught. Following up with Akouo, Pyrrha tried to get a jump kick on Cinder and failed. She threw her towards Jaune, the two laying on the ground together. "I really expected more from you. You were the one supposed to be the Fall Maiden, were you not? A pity"

Jaune and Pyrrha pulled themselves up as the knight began thinking of a new plan. They were losing and he needed to change that. "Pyr! Let's try Arkos!"

"The one with the shields!" she said with a grin. She was glad she actually remembered their team attack after the tournament fight. Pyrrha rushed back into the fight. Cinder smirked with her hands on her hips before shooting herself forward with jets of flame.

Pyrrha jumped in midair as Jaune ran to where he needed to be. The champion spun to try and thrust Miló's sword form at her, only for Cinder to grab it with her hand and melting its blade. A flaming fist sent her crashing into a wall. As she slammed into the wall and recovered quickly, she saw Jaune and gave him a nod. Pyrrha leaped up and used her momentum to grab a flying Cinder and then spinning her body to throw her towards Jaune who had his shield up to slam her face in. Swiftly coming up to follow his attack, Pyrrha slammed Cinder with Akouo, throwing her into a broken, shattered pillar.

Jaune cried out with a "Yes!" as they dealt a strong blow on Cinder. Until of course, she exploded in angry flame and flew as fast as Ruby with her semblance, her sword in hand. Jaune managed to catch it with Epitaph and erased the moment she struck him. He grit his teeth as he felt the strain of erased time. Diavolo's constant use earlier may not have been a drain on the man, but it certainly wore on Jaune retroactively.

Jaune fell to one knee and was panting for air. "Don't worry about me!" he quickly shouted. _Gods, I hope help gets here now!_

Pyrrha reluctantly nodded and jumped back into the fight. _I have to get up! I have to get up and fight! I can't leave her to fight alone! _he screamed at himself as he painfully rose from the ground. **This is a threat that we can predict! We, I, am the king who has overcome all threats! Get up! Get up and erase time! Fate has chosen us as the one to stand at the top! Use the arrow. **

Jaune's hand went to the arrow that was stuffed in his sheath. Somehow during the fight, half of it had broken. That left it just an arrow head with pointed wit pointed wood splinters at the halfway mark. From where he was kneeling he could see the other piece lying underneath Cinder's heels. Or rather, where they would be if she wasn't hovering. The clang of metal and the sound of flame made his spirit will into action. He had to keep fighting! Help was coming! It had to come.

* * *

_A little bit earlier…_

Mista crawled on the floor with a hand to his chest. The blasted, battered and devastated dining hall of Beacon Academy was the last place he ever thought of on his list of places to die, but it looked like it was going to be the winner. _Damn. And I really wanted to go out in-_

His train of thought was broken when he coughed up blood as a familiar boot stepped on his back. The pain courses through his body as he tried and failed to reach his revolver. Number 2 and Number 1 of his Sex Pistols appeared to him. "MISSTAAAAAAAA" Number 1 cried out, much to the man above Mista's annoyance.

"I always hated your semblance" snarled Adam Taurus as he pushed into Mista's wounded body with his boot. Mista groaned in pain again as he tried to wriggle his way free to no avail. Adam gently brought the point of his sword to just barely touch the slightly torn coat sweater he wore. "Actually, I always hated everything about you, Guido Mista. I told you once what would happen if we ever crossed paths again. You had your chance!"

Much against his own survival instincts pleading, he taunted the bull faunus. "Yea, yea, missed my chance to be a murdering bastard like you, eh?"

His taunting was met by even more pressure and the biting sting of Wilt piercing his skin. "Ahck" was the only sound he made as blood dripped from his mouth. "What's the matter Adam. Don't want to finish the job?"

Adam grit his teeth. He'd killed his human friends, at least one of them. Either the Grimm or the Knights or any of his countless soldiers killed the rest. But they were human. No, he'd take his time with Mista. Traitors would get what they deserved.

Mista meanwhile, was stalling for time as he felt the familiar feeling of his weapon in his hand. "What's the matter Adam, cat got your tongue?" the gunslinger taunted as he felt the feeling of at least two bullets left in the chamber. Just enough for Sex Pistol's to activate. _Now all I have to do is wiggle it free before he kills me. _The sound of Wilt leaving his flesh was sickening but the pain was just as bad. Adam raised his red sword to put an end to the life of Guido Mista when his blade was stopped by Gambol Shroud.

Mista opened one of his eyes when he felt Adam's foot come off his back. Spinning around, he saw Blake Belladonna blocking the killing blow. "Huh. I guess cat really did get your tongue."

Mista did not waste a second in trying to crawl away towards one of the blown out windows. Pulling himself up, shards of broken glass entering his hand as he did so, he pulled his gun out and gave his commands to Number 1. "Find. Help. Sex Pistols, go!"

He fired off one round as he heard Blake firing her weapon before the all too familiar sound of Moonslice activating filled his ears.

Mista fell back and leaned his head against the wooden bottom of the once spectacular window. _One bullet left. _Mista didn't hear or care to hear what the two were saying as he tried to aim his revolver. Blood from his forehead dribbled lightly over his left eye, blurring his vision. He saw Gambol Shroud knocked out of her hand.

That's when his plan paid off. Despite Blake being knocked to the ground, he heard the sound of Number 1 directing someone to the dining hall. "MIIIISTAAAA!" he heard being called out from outside of the hall. He weakly raised his arm to signal Number 1 to his location.

_We're saved!_ he thought before he saw Adam Taurus stab Blake through the abdomen. Mista heard the sound of Yang's semblance activate as he saw her burst through the broken window in a rage, dashing at Adam. _Shit! We're doomed! _Was all he could think of.

Then he heard the disgusting sound of steel meeting flesh and bone and fabric. His eyes widened as the right forearm of Yang Xiao-Long flew through the air, blood spurting out of the dead, lifeless thing.

Adam looked to be moving in for the finishing blow. "Shit!" he groaned out as he tried to act. He couldn't just let her die. _Can't fail. Can't let her die. Can't let them die. Not like the others. _Tears streamed down his eyes as he thought of Narancia. His cold, lifeless body slumped to the ground as Adam Taurus walked over him.

"Sex Pistols!" he half-shouted, half moaned out in agony, just as Blake looked to jump between him and her partner. "BLAKE!" he screamed as Adam brought down his blade.

Only to reveal one of her shadow clones. The real Blake has grabbed a now unconscious Yang and was running for it. Her eyes locked with his and she nodded. He nodded back, understanding. Blake couldn't carry two people, not with her wound. Mista didn't blame her for choosing her partner over him, he'd have done the same in her place. _Shit. Looks like I have to make this count._

Mista fired his gun at Adam, who angrily blocked it with Wilt after killing a mindless Creep. Mista grinned through bloody vision and teeth. Sex Pistols worked best when his foes blocked or deflected his bullets. Number 5 happily kicked the deflected projectile back down towards Adam, right in the places he'd leave unprotected by his aura. "YEEEHAW!" was all Adam heard as the bullet slammed into his thigh, causing him to fall face first to the ground in pain.

Mista raised a fist in success before groaning in the pain it caused. Taking the time he had bought himself, he pulled himself over the windowsill, crawling through broken glass with gritted teeth and made his escape. Unlike Adam's aura, which would patch him up soon, Mista's was depleted.

_Got. To find. Blake_ was all he thought as he crawled onward. _Got. To. Live. _His mind showed repeated images of Narancia's dead body. He had placed white flowers over his corpse before facing to fight Adam. Bruno and Abbacchio were probably dead too.

_Get safe. Get revenge. I'm going to fucking KILL YOU ADAM TAURUS!_

* * *

Ruby Rose was having a problem. A very big one. As she and her partner rushed towards the CCT tower last hordes of Grimm, she contemplated the exact problem she was having.

Firstly, her school was under attack. Secondly, she'd seen one of her friends torn apart and nearly killed. Thirdly, she'd seen Roman Torchwick get eaten alive and fourthly, she found her sister without an arm and Blake with a stab wound in her belly. To top it off, Jaune and Pyrrha were at the top of the tower fighting an enemy they had no chance against.

Yes, she was having a very big problem. Her mind was racing as fast as her body to try and formulate a plan to save her friends. "Weiss!" Ruby cried out to the white haired girl who was finishing another Grimm with her rapier. She spun round and fire an ice glyph towards Ruby, the crystal shard flying past her head and into the skull of an Ursai that was behind the Reaper.

"We need to get up the tower!" Ruby shouted as Crescent Rose unloaded a sniper round into an oncoming Beowulf before spinning in her arms and slicing several Grimm into nonexistent smears of darkness. First they needed to clear the courtyard of Grimm that had both come from the wyvern and been attracted by the sheer mass of negativity coming from the area. Ruby activated her semblance and flew through a horde of oncoming Grimm before flying up and bursting out in a flash of rose petals. Her weapon fired off several rounds as she fell back to the earth with her scythe slamming into the skull of an Ursa Major and then spinning to slash the rest to pieces.

Ruby looked up at the CCT tower and saw flashes of light coming from the top, distant but still visible. They needed to get up there ... but how…

The flash of Weiss's glyphs gave her the idea she needed. Turning to the Heiress, who just ripped her rapier out of a vanishing Grimm's corpse, she spoke again.

"I have an idea!"

"You always do!" Weiss said back with a smirk.

* * *

Pyrrha threw her shield directly at Cinder, who pushed it out of her way and back towards the Amazon. She caught it just in time before it flew off the edge of the tower. The champion could still see Jaune kneeling, though slowly he rose from his exhaustion. Pyrrha wondered how much aura he had left, regardless of his rather large pool of it. She herself was probably low too.

_Have to keep fighting!_ Pyrrha snapped at herself, just in time to dodge an oncoming fireball. Using her semblance, Pyrrha threw Ozpin's desk towards Cinder. A black hue surrounded both the desk and the girl who commanded it to fly. Cinder easily dodged the attack as Pyrrha readied her weapons, or what was left of them at least.

Jaune, despite feeling like a truck had crushed him, gained enough energy to swipe at Cinder, who ducked under his sword only to kick him in the chest and fling him towards Pyrrha. She ducked under him as he crashed behind her with an "OW!"

Pyrrha grit her teeth in anger. Sure, they were only just boyfriend and girlfriend, but Pyrrha had waited too long to be with him. Too long to have her destiny, her final goal. Cinder wasn't going to steal that from her. No one was. Jaune had risen from his fallen state and clutched at his arm. The blond knight ran up near Pyrrha about to say something. Pyrrha, even angrier at the woman in front of her, prepared to attack again.

Cinder took the offensive again as she launched two fireballs at Pyrrha. She dodged them and then rolled back as a stream of fire was sent towards her.

Pyrrha hurled her shield through the wall of fire that had formed in the wake of the fire stream. Even as Cinder deflected it, Jaune saw what Pyrrha was trying to do well before she had begun. His tactical acumen simply worked that well.

What Cinder hadn't foreseen was that as she deflected the shield, Pyrrha had been collecting gears from Ozpin's broken office in the air around her. Before she knew it, Akouo collided with her legs to knock her off balance as Pyrrha brought it back with her semblance. Following up on Cinder's imbalance, she brought down the countless gears onto her opponents chest to try and crush her while she recovered her shields

Jaune however, could only watch in horror as Epitaph showed him how it would all unfold. _Just as Pyrrha recovered her shield, Cinder used her heat to disrupt the magnetism and launch the gears back at their original user. One slammed into Pyrrha and threw her into a pillar that broke her aura._

Jaune knew he had to act now! Pyrrha was going to die if he didn't. Even now, he saw the heat break apart the magnetic strands between the gears and launched them back at Pyrrha. Just as he foresaw, Pyrrha's aura was destroyed.

Jaune clutched his chest, still feeling the strain of his Semblance as well as the fact his skin and his armor had melted into each other in some places of his body.

"PYRRHA!" was all he could shout as Cinder drew her ethereal bow and arrow and fired at his world. Pyrrha tossed her shield to try and stop it, spinning the disk with perfect accuracy right down the middle of the arrow. It would have worked, had the arrow not broken apart and simply reformed behind Akouo. The sharp gasp of pain Jaune heard as the arrowhead pierced Pyrrha's achilles and brought her to her knees was enough for the anger to flare in his heart and soul.

Both of them.

Cinder sauntered over to try and finish her as Jaune used Epitaph to see what would happen unless he skipped over it. _Cinder cooed to Pyrrha, taunting her over the Maidens powers she would never have before shooting her in the chest with her arrow and killing her. Only ashes were left of Pyrrha as she was incinerated by Cinder before a bright light washed over her. _

Jaune would not let that happen.

He rushed forward to stand by the kneeling Pyrrha Nikos who was panting in pain. "Jaune, run" she gasped out.

**This is not something I can't overcome! **

_I WON'T LET HER DIE_

When Jaune screamed out his next words, he pointed directly at Cinder with rage in his eyes. His voice was hoarse and filled with anger and sorrow. Each word was internally being influenced by Diavolo, and Jaune frankly let him encourage the hate within him.

"Don't talk to me like you have any idea what's going on, Cinder Fall!"

Cinder smirked as she brought forth her bow and arrow, ready to incinerate the both of them. Already flame was radiating out of her first arrow that lay punctured in Pyrrha's thigh.

"I won't even give you the chance to regret your death!"

Jaune widened his stance and held his weapons tight. He didn't care if overusing his Semblance would kill him! He refused to let Pyrrha die!

"**KING** CRIMSON!" Both Jaune and Diavolo shouted as time was erased. Lines appeared across the floor and the walls, even the sky and then broke apart with a deep bass thud that signaled his power activating. Everything scratched red like a T.V before the world crumbled around him, leaving only Cinder Fall, himself and Pyrrha in a starry world that only he was conscious of.

_I can see her movements! All her movements!_ Jaune thought out as he saw Cinder Fall automatically carry out her fated actions. Her every trajectory was forecasted in red even before she did so. Jaune saw her pull her arrow back well before she actually did it.

"This should stop your movements for good" he said as he swiped some blood from his forearm, courtesy of a wound Cinder had inflicted on Diavolo earlier. He splashed his own blood onto her face, covering her eyes in red liquid. Her movements ceased, and soon, when he was ready, so would she.

Jaune didn't know or care how long he'd been erasing time for. He was going to make her pay. He'd kill her! He'd KILL HER!

Jaune stepped towards Cinder as his long blond hair waved in the air, gazing into the future. He'd modified fate to serve him instead of Cinder. True power coursed through him and when he opened his mouth to speak, his voice sounded like a mix of Jaune and Diavolo, their thoughts and words mingling to become truly one. Both influencing the other. Both united in their enmity towards Cinder. Epitaph's prediction showed a great victory that pleased both Jaune and Diavolo. Blood spurted from Cinder's face as Jaune saw the future.

"**No one can escape **the fate that was chosen for them."

Jaune stepped behind Cinder and let his long hair flow in the erased air. His eyes were blue, or green? They seemed to keep shifting as his souls burned in flux. His hand say on his hip as one of them went upwards slightly. King Crimson appeared behind him, mirroring his stance.

"**All that remains **is the end, in **which you will all be **destroyed!" His words somewhere along the line ceased to be just about Cinder. Diavolo's feelings on everyone were mixed with Jaune's own anger. Diavolo truly meant everyone, and their blend of thoughts and emotions made Jaune feel some of that too. They both expressed it through their shared words.

"Eternal greatness lies **only within myself."**

Jaune raised Crocea Mors, aiming right for her eye. Somewhere behind him, King Crimson lifted his arm to attack with the knight.

"**SING A SONG OF SADNESS **IN A WORLD WHERE **TIME NO LONGER **EXISTS!"

TIME **RESUME!** They both thought at the same time before their thoughts and emotions were expunged from one another, their souls returning to a distinct separation. Time resumed with a scratching sound as Cinder Fall found blood blocking her vision, preventing her from firing her arrow at the now gone knight and the downed Amazon.

She felt movement behind her and tried to react but it was too late.

The pain she felt was excruciating. She was the Fall Maiden and this little worm had just done such a thing to her eye.

Crocea Mors had pierced right into her eye and tore out through part of her cheek before the open palm of King Crimson came crashing down and ripped open part of her right face. Suffice to say, her eye was gone.

**USE THE ARROW! TAKE WHAT IS OURS! NOW IS OUR CHANCE JAUNE. **

But Jaune had eyes on something, no, someone else. Despite dealing a devastating blow and blinding Cinder's right eye and damaging her face, Jaune felt weaker than ever. And it wasn't just because his body was at a breaking point as a result of his six seconds of erased time. No, it was the fact that he had completely failed to pay attention to the fact that Cinder's arrow had reduced parts of Pyrrha's legs to ash, and was burning at her thighs and her other leg. Jaune screamed a loud "NO!" as he ran towards Pyrrha and dropped his weapons.

He pulled her into his lap, her head resting on his legs as he held her close, a hand running through her beautiful, red ponytail. "Jaune" she whimpered out, a weak hand reaching for his face. There was a faint smile so filled with love. Jaune gently tore the arrow out, throwing to his side.

"Pyrrha… please don't… please don't leave…"

He saw as the orange glow burned away at her remaining lower body. Without the arrow, it seemed to be cooling off, but the damage was still done and could get worse. She'd die without medical help most certainly. "Thank you Jaune. Thank you for loving me too."

Jaune felt wetness pour down his face and onto both Pyrrha and the ground. "I do. I really, truly do. And I'll keep loving you. Just please don't go."

Pyrrha was going to weakly say something when Jaune felt his vision blur. He saw Cinder rising up from the ground, blood pouring from her wounded face. Flames quickly cauterized her wounds before she lost too much blood. Her one eye was literally on fire. "You…. You're both nothing worthless junk before me!"

She began to stumble her way towards Jaune, who tried to get up. His aura was gone, broken. "I'm with you Pyrrha. We'll go together. We'll go together" he repeated as he kept the person he loved close. He felt the absolute exhaustion of using King Crimson for six seconds completely win over him. Cinder was standing before them and he could see the fire gathering at her hand. He heard Pyrrha ask a simple question.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

As his body collapsed backwards, hand still in Pyrrha's the last thing he saw before blacking out was Cinder screaming "WHAT?" while a flash of bright light enveloped the world around them, all as a familiar voice cried out in anguish.

And then only nothing.

* * *

"Hey kiddo? Kiddo? Come on."

"You gotta let go of her blondie… come on… come on stick with me kid."

"I don't know if she's gonna make it,Qrow"

"Guido Mista was recovered by Port and Oobleck. Doctors think he's going to survive."

"Ruby's ok Glyn. It's the other two I'm worried about..."

"Oz is still missing and so are the perpetrators. I'm heading back to Atlas as soon as possible."

"What about the Arc boy?"

"I'm taking him back with his teammates to Patch. Same with Ruby's team. Apparently some pop star put in a good word with the Schnees to let us take her to Tai's place. Paid for the whole thing too… Now if only this blond kid would just let go of Nikos.."

—

His eyes slowly fluttered open. He felt comfortable, the familiar feeling of being in a bed with a blanket covering him. There was a nascent smell of pine and light smoke of a fire somewhere distant. The blond boy rubbed his eyes and tried to crane his head and take in his surroundings.

So this is what being dead was like. It felt an awful lot like a small cottage house made of wood with an open window blowing in cool fall air. That wasn't so bad. He realized he wasn't dead when he turned his head to his left to see Yang Xiao-Long curled up under many blankets. And then he confirmed he wasn't dead when he saw Ruby in another.

_Pyrrha_ he thought at once, sitting up on his bed only to be met by a great deal of pain. He looked to his right to see…

Pyrrha Nikos, lying on one of the beds in the rustic room with her red hair sprawled out all over herself and the bed frame. His heart skipped a beat in fear before he saw her chest gently rise and fall. She was alive. He was alive. He thought he'd lost her there on that tower.

Jaune couldn't see beneath her blankets. He had no idea what had happened to her legs and part of him didn't want to know. His palms had loosened their grip on the fringes of the blanket. Though his head throbbed with pain, he was utterly relieved that Pyrrha was alive.

"Tai! One of them is up! The blond kid! Not Yang!" Jaune heard come loudly from the doorframe where a tall and black haired man with grey specks of hair dotting his face. He had red eyes, too.

_Tai...Taiyang? Ruby's dad? Where am I?..._ he thought before feeling himself pass out again. This time however, he felt a light contentment. Everything seemed like it was going to be alright.

Jaune woke up again later, this time he was able to get up and start walking again. It turned out it wasn't just him at the Xiao-Long residence. Apparently his older sister had pulled some strings to bring not only all of Team RWBY to Patch, but JNPR as well. He made a mental note to thank Trish later.

Jaune was nearly injured again when Nora crashed into him with a colossal hug. Ren was content on letting it happen this time, signifying his own emotions at seeing their leader and friend alive and well.

"Please Nora… I'm dying!" he managed to cough out before letting go. Nora finally complied, pulling back to lay on Mr. Taiyang's couch. Sitting next to her was Ren and a rather upset looking Weiss. The Heiress looked up and weakly smiled. Jaune knee she wasn't the only one relieved that their partner was alright. Still, just like Jaune, she was worried about all the possible "What' If's?"

Jaune quickly sat next to his two teammates and Weiss. The white haired girl looked happy that they were reunited, but felt a distant isolation all the same. That was changed whenever Jaune beckoned her to come by them. She hesitated before moving to the members of JNPR there. Suddenly, she was pulled into a group hug by Nora and Jaune. "We're all ok" she heard as the four of them embraced one another. "Everyone's ok. We made it."

It was Jaune. He was comforting not just her, but his teammates as well. Weiss felt her face get wet as she cried.

They had all made. Ruby was going to be ok. So were Yang and Blake and Pyrrha. Even that other student from the tournament that came along with them. They all had made it.

"Hey! Blondie!" they heard from upstairs, breaking their impromptu hug session. It was from the one they had learned was named Qrow. He was Yang's uncle by blood and Ruby's uncle by simply being there for her. He was gruff around the edges, but seemed like a good guy. "Your partner's awake! Might wanna bring your team to see her!"

Jaune shouted back his acknowledgment and rose from the couch with his teammates and Weiss in tow. They took the lead up the stairs. Jaune was briefly stopped by Taiyang, who placed a hand on his shoulder before speaking. "You know, I've never seen anyone as unconsciously stubborn as you kid."

"Excuse me sir?" Jaune asked politely, confused and still a bit woozy. He didn't understand what Mr. Xiao-Long was quite saying.

"Please, just call me Tai" he said with another shoulder pat. Jaune nodded quickly. "I'm saying that when Qrow found you, he literally couldn't separate you from that girl. You had to be forcibly pried apart when you got here."

Jaune gulped. He had zero memories of anything that happened after he passed out from exhaustion on the CCT. _Geez, was I that bad? I hope Pyrrha didn't mind…_

"All I'm saying is, you did good kid. You should be proud of yourself. All of you really."

Jaune weakly smiled and said thanks as Tai beckoned him up the stairs to see Pyrrha. Once he was back in the room, he could see Ruby still sleeping lightly on her bed, with Weiss sitting by her and not so subtly holding her hand so tightly that it might have burst. Yang herself was idly leaning against the backboard of her bed with a vacant expression. Jaune could see now that she… she was missing an arm. _Oh gods… _he thought, suddenly thinking of Pyrrha. Blake herself was nowhere to be seen.

Jaune lightly pushed past Ren and Nora who were standing in front of him with shocked faces. When Jaune pushed through he saw why. Weakly leaning against the bed's backboard was Pyrrha Nikos, her hair undone and loose. Her clothing was a red nightgown, the remains of her armor and weapons having been put somewhere else in the Xiao-along residence. His blue eyes drifted down, causing Pyrrha to look away in shame.

Below her waist was ... practically nothing. Some dead skin and then emptiness. It took a second before it hit Jaune. Pyrrha's legs were gone. With a speed as fast as Ruby Rose he was right beside her. Ren and Nora followed up. Jaune could feel wetness forming at the edges of Pyrrha's eyes. Her dreams of being a huntress….

They were gone. Over. Finished because of one mad woman. He couldn't even begin to understand what she must have been feeling. Jaune's eyes felt glassy as Pyrrha threw herself into his chest and truly let her cry. Ren and Nora instantly were by her, and joined in their second hug circle of the day. No one said a word.

There was nothing to be sad. Only the tears. The tears spoke for them all.

* * *

Later that day, in the evening after dinner had come and gone, Jaune was lying in the same bed as Pyrrha, who was in the spot of the little spoon currently. Jaune let his fingers silently roam through her loose red hair as she simply gazed at the wall absently. "Jaune" he finally heard her say. She'd been quite all day and at dinner too. Perhaps she'd been waiting for when they'd be alone. Yang and Ruby had moved back to their own rooms, while Ren, Nora and Weiss were still downstairs. Apparently Blake had shown up as well, or so he'd heard from their voices below. The crickets were chirping outside while the shattered moon lightly bathed the two lovers in their bed.

"Yea Pyr?" Jaune said softly. He compared his voice now to when he and Diavolo were speaking together back during their fight. Not that Pyrrha would have heard him anyways. Pyrrha still wasn't looking at him. There had been nothing but insecurity with Jaune, her team and everyone else. She felt so ... useless….

"I know this might sound childish but ... even without my legs, you want to stay with me still?"

It was a question borne from anxiety and lament of the fact she would most likely never walk again. That Jaune now has a useless partner, a useless friend and a useless girlfriend all on top of that. Jaune himself responded by weaving a hand through her loose hair. His calloused fingers ran through the smallest of knots and undoing them. Pyrrha exhaled as she felt him do his work.

"Of course I would" he finally said as he kept weaving. "Still the prettiest girl I know, with or without legs. And you've got the brightest soul too." He peppered the top of her head with small, chaste kisses. Pyrrha sighed and Jaune could hear her sniffling in the darkness of the night. "None of that" he assured her as his hand moved from her hair to her face to wipe away the tears that had formed.

"But I'm useless…. I can't even be a huntress. My entire life has been wasted."

"I don't think you're useless. Neither Ren or Nora think that way either. Same with RWBY and everyone else. Your worth isn't predicated on your abilities, Pyr."

Jaune finally pulled her around to look at him with her emerald eyes looking into his. "You're not useless because you're worth everything by just being you." In the darkness he smiled as Pyrrha shut her eyes and exhaled, pulling her blanket closer around them. "And I'm not going anywhere."

The blond knight could see her smile, ever so lightly. He knew that she was hurting, physically and mentally. Practically all of them were, but only Yang had lost a limb like she did. He'd be here for her. Even if she couldn't walk again, he'd never leave her. Not after the fear and pain he felt when he saw that arrow pierce her. "We're going to work. We're going to be fine. Everyone still loves you the same. Ren and Nora love you. I love you."

Never again would he let go.

* * *

The shadows overhead had created a black night for the cat faunus. Clouds blocked a once shining moon and bathed the land in a shimmering darkness that was perfect for her to make her leave. Only the artificial light that came from lamp on her desk within the guest room of the Xiao-Long household was present.

The weight of what she was privy to had been breaking her. Now with the failure to protect her partner? It was too much for her. Blake wished she didn't know anything about Maidens or magic or anything she had foolishly dove into as a result of trying to discover what was plaguing the team leader of JNPR. That had led her down the rabbit hole she would never be able to just forget about.

She had to go. She had to do what she did best. Run away. She was only trouble. What was that old human saying about unlucky black cats?

Blake Belladonna was packing her things in the guest room. There wasn't much to be honest. Some of her spare clothes from Beacon, lien and her bow. Gambol Shroud would stay right at her hip, of course. She looked across her desk to see if there was anything else she needed to take when she…. it.

The arrow. Or rather, half of it. The piece that was recovered from Jaune. She didn't know if Diavolo knew he no longer had possession of his portion of the Fall Maidens aura. A wicked voice in her whispered to take it for herself before she quickly snuffed it out. _Qrow must have taken it from him when he was brought here. _

She still didn't really know why she had come to Patch herself, really. Perhaps she wanted to know how Yang was doing, and in equal importance, Mista.

Guido Mista had also been brought to Patch. The gunslinger was found crawling his way towards the evacuation point when Port and Oobleck found him. He was breathing her name, trying to see if she and Yang were still alive. It was frankly a miracle that he himself was alive. Several fractured bones, multiple lacerations and wounds and who knew how much glass was stuck in him. She had heard from him that he stabbed himself a fifth time with some glass just to keep his wounds at anything but four. Thankfully his aura was mostly done healing his body. The man was just born lucky it seemed.

Except for the fact that he had lost his entire team. Team BGLG was gone. Mista had seen Narancia die, killed by Adam Taurus, and both Burni and Abbacchio were still missing. Just like so many other students. Just another reason for why she had to go. Adam would just find her again and she'd put them all in danger again.

She put her pack at her side and slid out the front door without a sound.

Standing on the front porch of the Xiao-Long household, she considered her options. Most likely she'd go back to Menagerie to her parents. Not that she'd be welcome there, but she has to try.

Taking a deep breath, Blake was about to take a step when she heard the door open behind her. Her amber eyes snapped around and widened. If it was Qrow or Tai or god's forbid Yang, she was done for.

But it wasn't.

It was Guido Mista in his still bizarre clothing and hat. From the porch-light she could see he was only slightly limping, but other than that he had recovered from his injuries. "Nice night to be up and out" he said rhetorically. He must have had a pretty good idea on what Blake was planning on doing with her pack in her hand and that glint in her amber eyes.

"Yea" she softly mewled out. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep. Thinking about my team." Blake winced slightly as Mista strolled up the wooden porch railing and leaned on it. His eyes beckoned Blake join him, and she relented, walking towards him and putting her forearms on the wood and looking to her side at him.

"Me too. I've been thinking about my team too" she said finally, breaking a long period of silence that was marked with the repeated notes of crickets chirping away in the night. From the faint outline of his face she could see he was having a hard time believing that.

"Ohhhh? Really? You've been thinking about your team? It doesn't look like that from what I'm seeing, given what you're about to do." He didn't even look at her as he spat his words out. "I'm sure your partner will appreciate you by her side as she recovers."

Blake winced at his harshness and looked away. She felt even more shame than she already felt. She was a coward and she knew it. But she had to do this. She had to run and be cowardly for their sake and for her own. Blake had personal matters to deal with at home and she wouldn't let her presence bring Adam down on her friends. "It's not that simple."

"Oh? Looks simple to me."

"You wouldn't understand, Adam-"

Mista's eyes flared with anger as he snapped to look at her for once. "I wouldn't understand? What wouldn't I understand about you or Adam or the White Fang? Eh? I know who he is. He killed my partner. He probably killed the rest of my team too."

Blake looked shocked at his anger. But he was a human, he wouldn't know. He couldn't know. The Whitr Fang, Adam, Sienna. Her parents. They were all encompassing. Nowhere was safe from their presence in the minds of the faunus. She watched as Mista's hands went to his hat and slowly took it off as she tried to speak again.

"It's something… only a…"

"Faunus would know, right?"

Mista had messy black hair. That was the first thing she noticed about him. It kind of reminded her of Jaune's hair before he grew it out and put it into that really weird hairstyle. The most important thing, however, was the fact he had a set of ears on his head. Fox ears. He was a faunus, just like her. "You're a faunus?"

Mista shrugged. He didn't really care if people knew or not. "Yea. I never joined the White Fang like you or Adam. Even when you were just peaceful protestors." Blake looked confused. Why would a faunus not support a group that fought for their rights? Mista raised his hands in a guilty looking fashion. "Yea yea, I know. Why'd I not want in on that?" He shrugged again. "I didn't care. Back in Mistral, it was Buccellati who took me in when I was on the streets. It was Bruno Buccellati who convinced me to join Haven with him. A human did more for me than any other faunus in my life."

Mista was quietly explaining his story, his reasoning. Maybe it was for his sake as much as it was hers. Blake swore she heard guilt in his voice. The cat faunus let the fox faunus speak unhindered. She owed him that much.

"Humans like Abbacchio and Narancia and Professor Kujo took me in. And then came Adam Taurus. He wanted me in the new White Fang under Sienna. I told him to fuck off. I didn't want in with the Fang when it was peaceful, and I didn't want in when it become violent either. I'm a hunter in training, no? I should be using Sex Pistols for good."

Blake saw out of the corner of her eye, the glint of his revolver. Her breath was held as she kept listening. "First he had his Fang make it too dangerous for Professor Kujo and his daughter to live in Mistral. So he left home for Atlas. Then he kept harassing Trish and the rest of our band."

Mista had tears in his eyes, his teeth gritted to try and keep them from flowing. "And finally, he went and murdered my teammates!"

His tears flowed freely as memories of Narancia's dead body flooded his mind. Memories of being separated from Bruno and a badly beaten up Abbacchio. They were probably dead too. Calling them missing just meant they hadn't found the bodies. Mista curled his hands into fists. "Mista…." Blake finally said softly as she extended a hand to rest on his shoulder.

"And I see you here" he managed to get out between sobs. "With all your friends and teammates alive! And you're running away! It really pisses me off!"

Blake felt a surge of shame and guilt. She felt herself hesitant about this whole thing. "It's more than that! I have to go to keep them safe. I have to go to make things right."

Mista brought his hand down hard on the porch rail and cracked some of the wood in his rage. "If you're going to run, then I am too! But I'm not going to run away! I'm going to run right towards Adam Taurus and I'm gonna kill him!"

There was a creak behind them which caused the two faunus' to snap their heads towards its source. Standing behind them with a tired and irritated look on his face was Qrow. Blake groaned when she saw him and Mista just slumped his shoulders. "If you kids are done with your little revenge fest then you can come back inside for some sleep. Ruby woke up, so Tai and I have some stuff to tell you all tomorrow." Qrow looked directly at Blake. "Stuff some of you might already know."

The man didn't wait for an answer before turning around and going back inside the house. Mista and Blake looked at each other back to the door and then back to each other. The girl sighed before walking back to the house. "What? Not going to run off now?"

She snapped her head at Mista. "Not tonight." Her hands gripped tightly. Blake was annoyed that Mista had delayed her just long enough for someone else to show up. She was annoyed that he was both so right and so wrong. She was cowardly and selfish for leaving a team that was still alive, but to her, so was he for turning his back on the faunus. She was going to storm back into the house when she felt a hand grabbing her wrist and keeping her in place. "Let go" she said plainly, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Where are you planning to go?" he asked, purposefully using are instead of were. He knew she would listen to whatever Qrow and Tai had to say then leave. It wasn't a very original plan. He'd pulled stunts like that when he was younger too before he met Buccellati. Blake stood silently, a fire in her eye as she considered what to do. She couldn't just try and fight him, given he was still hurt. But she couldn't just stand there with him grabbing her wrists either.

"I said let go!"

"And I asked a question!"

"Menagerie!" she shouted, no longer caring if anyone woke up anymore. She wasn't leaving tonight anyways. One of Mista's brows rose as she yelled the words out.

"You're not going after the White Fang?" Mista finally said. Blake shook her head in response. She was running away from the Fang to the one place she might have had left.

"I'm going to try and reconnect with my parents…. now… can you please let go?"

Mista remembered that he was holding onto one of her wrists tightly. He let go and jumped back embarrassed, running a hand through his black hair and ears. A third voice entered the fray suddenly. Blake looked down to see the yellow glow of one of Mista's little bullets. His actual Semblance was six of them, numbered one through seven, excluding four. "Miiiiistaaaaa!" The little bullet creature cried out. It had a little number 3 on its chest and it rubbed its eyes. "Miiiistaaaaa can we please go to sleep? Number 5 won't stop complaining!"

_Wha…. what the hell?... _Blake thought. Mista's Sex Pistols really was one of the strangest semblances she'd seen. It, or they, were actually complaining to Mista about sleep. "I guess it is pretty late…." he admitted and rubbed his chin. A swipe of his hand went to put his hat back before it was stopped by Blake. Mista looked at her with confusion.

"Leave it off" was all she said while she took her bow off and tossed it away. "We shouldn't have to hide."

Mista grit his teeth and relented, leaving his hat off for now. "It's not cause I want to hide it…." he mumbled to her as he walked past towards the house. Blake thought it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself of that. Blake felt for the teen. _He probably had spent his life fighting off faunus and humans on the streets. And when it was a human that took him in as family, he must have tried everything to become like a human. Rejecting the Fang. Rejecting his people. Hiding everything about himself not just for safety, but because he truly and utterly wanted to be a human. _

Blake sighed as she followed the gunslinger back inside. He was a lot more complicated than she thought. But for now, she needed sleep, just as Number 3 had said. It was pretty late after all.

* * *

Midday morning came to the sleeping denizens of the Xiao-Long household like a train. Their blessed hours of sleep passed away in an instant seemingly and left many of them unable to leave their beds until Qrow made them so. He had lots to tell the teens. He and Taiyang had decided to tell the rest of them about the Maidens.

Inside the big guest room was both Team RWBY and JNPR as well as Mista. Jaune and Pyrrha sat on Pyrrha's bed, a hand on her thigh gently rubbing it back and forth as Pyrrha liked it. Ruby Rose was sitting on her bed while Yang was idly looking up into the air. Blake Belladonna stood with Ren and Nora while Guido Mista was leaning against a wall near the window.

"So…." Ruby said, finally breaking the silence that had fallen on them after Qrow had finished explaining things. He had told them about the Maidens and magic and of the secret war between Ozpin and the ruler of the Grimm, Salem. Of silver-eyes warriors, which Ruby was one. It was a lot to take in. Many world views were challenged, but with Ren, Pyrrha and Blake affirming what Qrow and Taiyang were saying as true, they had no choice but to accept it as truth.

Jaune had his teeth grit. He was upset at Ozpin, himself and at this Salem. "So what you're saying is that Professor Ozpin and you guys were recruiting three teenagers to fight in your secret war?"

"Jaune…" Pyrrha said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him. Jaune wasn't having it, but he did soften a bit. His shoulders loosened and his teeth relaxed. He was no longer clenching them.

"It's not that simple, kid. We gave them a choice!"

Jaune looked at his girlfriend, then at Yang's partner and then to Ren and Guido Mista. Everyone had lost something. _But it's not their fault_ he tried to tell himself. "Some choice" was all he said, even if he didn't mean to.

"It isn't that simple, Jaune" Ren finally said, a surprising voice coming forth in defense of Qrow. "Blake and I were only brought into this because we were researching Diavolo." Jaune felt his blood run colder as his face turned away from Ren in shame. _My fault. My damn fault they had to deal with all this._

"We couldn't let you or anyone else know because of the danger of letting Diavolo know or chaos it could create. As for Pyrrha ..."

The would-be candidate of the Fall Maiden was looking dejected as all eyes turned to her. Jaune felt a shift in her mood and rubbed her thigh lightly before grasping her hand and keeping it close. "She was approached regardless of those two" Qrow interjected. "Oz wanted her to be the next Fall Maiden. And to stop the guy sharing your body-" Qrow pointed directly at Jaune and then pulled out the arrow head that Diavolo had. "-from using this to…. well we didn't really know what he'd do."

Jaune furrowed his brow. Diavolo had been silent ever since he'd arrived in Patch, though he didn't doubt that his own second soul wasn't listening in now, fuming that he not only didn't have the Maidens power but no longer had his arrow in possession either. "You're a good kid, but I'm holding onto this" Qrow explained, as if he could read his thoughts. Jaune nodded in agreement. Best to keep it out of Diavolo's hands for now.

"So, What's next?" Ruby said to the assorted groups. Nobody had an answer. What the hell could they even do? Fight some sort of secret war for their dead Headmaster? Two of them were crippled, they all were recovering from wounds both physical and emotional. Weiss would probably be dragged back to Atlas and Mista? He'd lost everything. What good were they?

Qrow just shrugged. "Up to you" was all he said before leaving the room, Taiyang grimacing as he followed behind him.

"We have to do something!" Ruby began to say before a voice that took them all by surprise rang out.

"We don't have to do anything," said Yang Xiao-Long, finally looking over at her friends and teammates. She'd been silent for days, absently staring at the walls or at the ceiling, only coming out to eat and drink and use the restroom. Her voice was hoarse and weak from lack of use, but it was still audible.

"Yang?..." Ruby said with a quivering tone. She'd never truly seen her sister like this and she hated how much of a shell of her former self she'd become. The bubbly sun dragon reduced to…. this….

At least she had Pyrrha to commiserate with?...

"We don't have to do anything. We don't need to go out and fight some war we're not a part of. I'm going to stay. Here. At home…. it's all I can do now anyway."

She then turned on her side away from Pyrrha's bed and pulled the covers over her with her one good arm. Her eyes had lingered on Blake for a second before being shut to try and catch some sleep, something she'd become adept at lately. Team RWBY's heart shattered and wept for their wounded teammate.

None so more than Ruby Rose.

But it pained Blake Belladonna the most, for what she was about to do would hurt them all greatly.

Later that night as the teens all made their good-nights and trekked to bed, a woman was running on the rooftops in the town of Patch. She was terrifically swift and silent. Her body was like a thin strip of paper that floated in the air. Her bags gently bumped against her as she jumped from one smokestack to another. She was extremely careful with her steps, as it had rained the night before, leaving the rooftops slick with a wetness that could mean a broken neck if she wasn't cautious.

Her destination was the small harbor that was thankfully still open, with an early morning boat still docked. The woman had seen the shopping schedule earlier in the day, so she had no worries on their being no way off the island by sea.

Landing with a wet thud on the streets below, she looked up to search the area around her. It was incredibly dark, given how early in the morning it was. By her scrolls count, three A.M. The perfect time for a cat to prowl. Blake Belladonna knew what she was, a coward who ran when the going got tough. But she wouldn't turn back from this, no matter how much it hurts. They'd get over her in time. Blake felt her rations rustle in her pack as she ran towards her target.

The cat faunus made her way into the harbor-building, intending to arrange transport back to Vale where she'd find a passenger boat to Menagerie. Easy enough, given she had to lien for it. _Time to see if they let faunus on board. _

Thankfully, the harbor master wasn't a racist, nor was the boat captain. He was a small time fisherman preparing to set sail back to Vale to deliver supplies to the rebuilding teams in the city. _Perfect._

Blake stepped out onto the wet and wooden pier that went on for a long while. It wasn't poorly made by any means, and could fit a good number of ships too. Blake found the vessel she'd be staying aboard, it being the only one docked of course, and looked it over. It was named something too expletive to repeat which made her smile weakly. At least her sense of humor hadn't died away…..

She felt her bag rustle again. That caused her to raise a brow as she looked down to see movement in her pack. _Did an animal get in there?_ A swift movement from her hand opened it to reveal two unexpected guests. Sitting in her pack and eating some of her food rations was a small, bullet looking being with a number 2 on its chest, while one with a 5 was starting to cry rather loudly.

_Those are… those are_…

"NUMBER 2! YOU'VE BEEN EATING ALL HER FOOD AND I'M GETTING HUNGRYYYYY!" Number 5 whined as Number 2 feasted on the food belonging to Blake. The smug looking bullet rubbed it in Number 5's face only to have it torn off when he realized they'd been caught, dropping the little bits of tuna instantly.

Blake heard the sound of boosts meeting wet wood and snapped her head around. The two semblance bullets flew back to their owner, the man that just arrived and continued their argument to him.

"MIIIISTAAAAA!" Number 5 whined loudly to him, tears pouring from his eyes as Guido Mista, hat on, stepped out into the dim light coming from the overhead lamps on the many poles of the pier. "TELL NUMBER 2 TO SHARE SOME OF THE FOOD WITH ME!"

"Oi, oi, oi!" he chirped out him as Number 2 crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue. "Number 2! Next time give him some ok? And next time, don't give yourself away because you're so hungry?"

"But Miiista!"

The gunslinger shut them up with a finger being raised. The two vanished at once as he returned his focus to a half giggling, half confused, and quarter concerned Blake. "Oi! What's so funny?"

"You. Your semblance. It really is unique."

Mista nodded eagerly, always ready to accept praise for his powerful semblance. "It is, isn't it?" he agreed rhetorically as he walked up to stand next to her.

The humor in the air vanished as fast as it came, leaving only the lapping of waves against the docks and the ship. Blake spoke first. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was soft, though inquisitive. She had thought that Mista went to sleep like the others. In fact Blake had seen him asleep! She made sure to check that was out! _He probably intended me to think that. Just so he could use Sex Pistols to track me. Smart._

Mista shrugged for his part. "Maybe I wanted to see you off?" he smirked.

Blake rolled her eyes. That was believable, sureeee. "Yeah. Sure."

Mista's smirk dropped as he crossed his arms and held a hip up. Blake could see the glint of his gun still, simple, yet omnipresent. It was a powerful tool that maximized the use of his semblance. No need to waste time with a melee component.

"I thought about your reasoning. You're not going to fight the Fang all by yourself. I was pretty stupid for thinking I could do it all by myself, huh?"

Blake didn't disagree with him, cheekily nodding which caused him to scowl and flick her shoulder with his finger. Blake snorted lightly. "So I thought some more about it and well. I don't really have a team anymore. Or a home. Professor Kujo maybe, but he's in Atlas. Then there's Trish…. my uh… girlfriend. She understands what I'm going through right now. So I thought that, hey, maybe I should do some personal searching too. I was born there, on Menagerie. Lived there till I snuck over to Mistral on a ship like this. With all this shit I've learned about Salem and Maidens and magic, I thought I could try and do some good there….. and might as well….. try and see if I can have a home there. With my people ..." _Plus, I ran into Yang while leaving and she made me tell. I'm looking out for you for her. Oh man, she is sooo mad at you Blake. _Mista wisely left that part unsaid.

Blake didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. Mista was coming to Menagerie. The complexity of the man went even deeper. She could see the pain in his face. The guilt. The confusion. He was mourning his team, blaming himself no doubt for their deaths, and he was angry at himself. For the life he lived. He had no regrets about being a huntsman, that much was certain. But there was conflict in him. About his choice to try and hide his faunus nature, to try and become human.

He reminded her of Ilia, perhaps if she had chosen to hide as a human instead of openly show her nature.

"So I'm coming with you. Not for you, with you. I'm going purely for my own business, got it?" He suddenly said with the more typical bravado that she was used to by now. That caused Blake to chuckle, even if it was weak.

"Ok" she said. The boat captain was coming up from behind Mista. It was time to go.

Mista thought she was going to fight his choice. Frankly he had prepared for it. But for her to accept so easily was not what he had expected. "Wait, what?"

Blake stepped into the boat, her first new act of cowardice, but did not hesitate. She needed to do this and from what she now knew, so did Mista too. They may be looked at as traitors in the fight against Salem, but it was what they had to do. Let it be their traitors requiem, then.

"You're coming right? Captains gonna head out soon, so you best hurry."

Mista's eyes widened in shock. He nodded rapidly, but realized he didn't have any snacks. The captain yelled for his passenger to get on in three minutes or less, or else he'd be leaving without him. Mista yelped and rushed for the snack machine with all six of his panicked bullets asking for their favorite snacks.

Blake could not help but smile. After all they'd gone through, something to smile about was a welcome change. She only hoped that the others would have something to smile about too, once they learned she was gone. Her heart cried out against her as she continued on her path, but her soul quieted her pain. She needed to do this, she kept telling herself.

The cat faunus leaned forward at the prow, looking into the waves as Mista pulled himself on board. She felt the boat begin to move as it honked a horn that probably woke some sleeping citizens up. The clatter of Sex Pistols ravaging the snacks Mista bought, the sound of the gunslinger trying to save some snacks for himself. All of that went through her as she shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Alright Mista ... lets go. Let's go home" Blake said, softly and quietly to herself as the wind blew through her hair.

* * *

Fall turned into winter on Patch. Of the original group of students that came to the island to recover, only two had left. Blake Belladonna's departure had hit Team RWBY hard, but the one that surprised them as well was that Guido Mista had apparently left with her.

He had left a letter that told them he was going after Blake that morning, one which still sat folded up on the kitchen counter. It read: _So, I guess I'm heading out now. Yang can explain it better, since she caught me and all. I'm going after Blake. Don't worry about me. _

_P.S: Hey Arc, mind telling your sister that his boyfriend is safe and alive? _

The shocking realization that Mista was dating Jaune's older sister Trish Arc-Una had provided a welcome comedic relief for everyone at a time when things seemed more grim than ever. At least, for everyone except Yang. While the rest of them, barring Pyrrha, worked around the household and pulled their weight, Yang simply wallowed. Pyrrha was doing her best to help and stay active, using her new wheelchair to come and be with her friends as much as she could. Yang however, only sometimes came out of her room, and only ever to eat or drink or use the restroom. It was truly heartbreaking to see her regress into ... whatever she was now.

Alas, Team JNPR had to focus on itself. Pyrrha was still dealing with phantom pains and nightmares, which Jaune was getting better at assuaging. Their new relationship was strong and would certainly survive the storm. Ren and Nora were pillars of support for their leader and teammate.

Weiss, who through large sums of money and promotion being given to the SDC from Trish Arc-Una, was able to stay away from her father's grasp to stay with Ruby. It was a poorly kept secret for a while that the two were very much like he and Pyrrha. With Blake gone and Yang in her current state, Weiss was all Ruby really had left. When JNPR came to them and told them they'd support their relationship, the two were relieved to finally come out. They even had a celebratory dinner with cake that night. Anything to keep themselves busy.

Ruby Rose however, was not content with idle work at her house. No, she was planning. Planning to make things right in this world. She wasn't gonna let fear and harm keep her down. She couldn't run like Blake or give up like Yang. Ruby had begun to think a few weeks ago about possibly going after those responsible. Her plan was ... simple, really. Go to Haven, as it was their only lead on Cinder and her crew. Even if they probably weren't students to begin in reality.

She only talked to Weiss and Jaune about it first, testing the waters to see if she'd have support. Weiss was hesitant, but decided on giving it the thumbs up, as long as she was away from home. Jaune would have to check with JNPR first.

That was what Jaune had just finished doing an hour ago as he strolled outside of the Xiao-Long home, trudging through the snow with a sled filled with large logs from the forest. The fireplace had been running low, so they got him to go and get some more fuel.

Jaune was whistling a low tune as he slowly made his way back to the log cabin house when his head started to ache slightly. He grit his teeth and tried to ignore it, but it was getting worse. The blond boy fell to one knee as images flooded his mind.

_A ransacked building covered in vines and foliage. _

_A preserved journal with dripping blood on it. A man with long, pink hair trying to hide it quickly. _

_Mistral. Anima. The arrow but…. it was whole? Or perhaps, a second arrow? Yes! That's what it was! A second arrow! Diavolo had made two! _

_He heard the cries of Useless! Useless! Useless! The same he had used during the tournament. A man with blond hair similar to his with a white glowing aura. _

Jaune had no clue what it was or what it meant. They weren't predictions from Epitaph. His hair would have moved for that. Diavolo wasn't speaking either, having been silent ever since the battle with Cinder. Despite Jaune knowing his second soul was awake, Jaune could only make guesses as to what was happening.

_I could be…. I could accessing his memories?... If I am… then what do they mean? _

Then he heard him. Diavolo.

**My… sweet ... cute …. little Jaune…**

Jaune felt a shiver go down his back at the sound of the man's deep voice echoing in his mind. _You're finally talking? _he questioned suspiciously. It was no coincidence that he'd seen those memories and now Diavolo finally starts talking again. What the blond knight needed to know was if Diavolo was aware of that fact, and if he was, of the memories Jaune had seen, which ones did Diavolo know he had seen.

_And if it works both ways. _

**I am. I have spent a great deal of time thinking and now I believe the Rose girl's plan is your greatest option! The arrow was stripped of me, but I can recover. We are the king above all king's. I know you saw some of my memories. Very few of my hosts have been capable of such a thing…**

**Near Mistral was my old home. Throughout the generations I have kept it away from the public eye by letting its exterior decay. But within lies greatness! I created a second arrow, originally intending to use it to secure the Maiden's power before I was killed! We can use it take back the **

There was no point in lying about his desire for Maiden's powers. They all knew about it. Diavolo wagered he could build more trust with the Arc he inhabited to try and achieve his requiem.

_So, you want me to go with Ruby to Mistral just to stop by your house? What makes you think she'll agree?_

**It is her only chance to take the Maiden's power from her! It must pierce her aura and take it! It is the only way! **

Jaune thought about it for a good moment. In his brief conversation in the snow, he'd figured out there was a second arrow. He figured that Diavolo didn't intend to simply hand over the Fall Maidens powers back to Qrow. When that time came, he needed to approach the others about possibly having to fight King Crimson in his body. That was a problem for them when it happened, though.

More importantly, he knew that Diavolo did not know all of the memories he'd seen. Jaune would let the others know, discreetly, that there was something in Diavolo's old home that he may not want them to see. That journal, which was what he presumed to be Diavolo's diary. If they could get to it ... who knows what they'd learn. Perhaps a way to get Diavolo out of Jaune? Or perhaps they'd learn what Diavolo was planning to do with the Maiden's power, and his so called requiem.

And finally, there was that blond haired man shouting the same battle cry Jaune had used against Buccellati months ago. _Useless_. _A shimmering, White aura._ _Why would Diavolo have those memories? _

Jaune made a mental note to investigate that later. For now though, he had to drag these logs back to the cabin and let Ruby know he and his team sans Pyrrha would be coming with. At least, he hoped Ren and Nora would. He just needed to know one more thing.

_Since I saw some of your memories, does that mean you can see mine?_

**Some. Why do you ask?**

_Even uh… intimate things? _Jaune blushed in the snow at the thought of some of the more personal things Pyrrha and him had done as a couple over the past few weeks. They hadn't gone all the way but… they were pretty close. The knight was a red dot in the snow by now with his flush.

**If you are wondering on the thought of me perusing through your sexual escapades with Nikos, then perish the thought. I have no interest in such things. If it will ease your mind, I'll make sure to not look through those, or even be aware of it when it occurs.**

_Thanks. You're a real pal, gramps. _Jaune snickered as he dropped the logs outside of the cabin, smiling when he saw Pyrrha wearing bright red winter clothes and sitting in her wheelchair on the front porch.

**Wh… what did you call me?!**

Jaune couldn't help but laugh as he walked over to Pyrrha, kissed her briefly and rolled her inside.

* * *

Jaune's worries were for naught. Ren and Nora gave him a resounding yes and Pyrrha, though hesitant, agreed that they should go as well. Jaune knew she felt miserable and useless when knowing she wouldn't be able to come along. Jaune would rub her hand gently to calm her.

Later that evening, as they all settled in for bed, Jaune was lying next to his lover in the same guest bed they'd been sharing for months. Like usual, he was closely holding her. Firm, strong hands running through her red hair. Each finger played lightly with the strands that were untied and loose, coming down near her waist. "Jaune" she murmured lightly to get his attention. The moon was shining on them like it always did. Pyrrha didn't want the shutters to be closed.

"Yeah?" he whispered back, hands still running through her beautiful locks. He took every moment to take in everything. The smell of her hair, the feeling of her pressing up against him. It would be gone in a few days. She was going back to Argus and he would be going with Ruby, Weiss and the remnants of Team JNPR to Haven. If he was unlucky, it would be the last time he would hold her.

Of course, that didn't mean he felt hesitant and nervous as all hell with what she said next. "I… I think I'm ready. Before we're gone for… who knows how long. I don't want anymore regrets. Anymore wasted time."

She wanted to take their relationship to the next level of intimacy. Sure, there had been some… amorous activity between the two, but never the real deal. This was it. She was asking that. Jaune felt himself redden as he opened his mouth to speak. An awkward wheeze came out instead which caused the red head to giggle.

"We don't have to ... if you're not comfortable-"

Jaune quickly interrupted her. "No! No! I mean, I just didn't expect it. But ..."

He remembered what he asked Diavolo earlier. About him staying asleep during intimate moments. He felt bad that he was using this beautiful moment for a second purpose ... but he had no other choice. _After. I won't ruin this for her. _Pyrrha was turned to face him, rolling over with a slight heave. She'd gotten used to moving with just her arms.

"But we shouldn't do this because we don't want regrets…." he murmured softly into her ear. She was looking into his eyes and he into hers. "We should do it because _we_ want to…."

She leaned forward and kissed him, pushing him forward onto the bed lightly.

* * *

The day they'd all waited for had come. Outside a shed by the Xiao-Long household, Ruby Rose stood tall. Or as tall as someone her size could be. With her was her partner and…. little more than just a friend, Weiss Schnee. Ruby was deeply grateful that she was coming. Weiss was taking a huge risk to both her life and her standing by coming with them. Her father would be furious, but she didn't care. Not when they had a world to save and a villain to catch.

Jaune was standing by them, his teammates beside him. He wore his hair long like Diavolo now, his blond lock's dangling beneath his shoulders. He had a pack and map to his side. While his shoulder piece and weapons were in place, his armor was a melted, blasted mess. The center was caved in after Cinder had burned it away and into his flesh, leaving melted steel and scarred skin beneath it.

"Hey Jaune…." She said skittishly. The knights hand was on the handle of his girlfriend's wheelchair. She nervously coughed, knowing fully what they had gotten up to last night. Frankly, everyone could hear. Even at that time of night. Who knew Weiss wasn't the only girl who could sing among them.

Regardless, Pyrrha had also divulged a very important fact from Jaune. While Ruby had been told about the second arrow and how they could use it against Cinder, she now knew of a diary that Diavolo clearly didn't want anyone finding. She also knew Jaune couldn't tell her himself because of the fact Diavolo was practically always watching. Her heart ached for her best friend. No one quite understood what he was going through, especially with the reality that Diavolo had killed Mercury Black during the Fall. It may not have been his soul but…. he still blamed himself. He just put on a brave face for the rest of them. Ruby sighed and turned to the rest of his teammates.

"Hey" he said back, a hand finding one of Pyrrha's that had snaked up her chair.

"Haven's a long way to go…" Even though he'd agreed to come, she was still nervous.

"Yea. But it's the only lead we have…"

Ren spoke up next, assuring them all in his calm, stoic manner. "The journey will be perilous.. and whether we find answers or not is entirely uncertain."

His rambunctious and determined partner rose up to add in her morale boosting words as well. "But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it!"

Pyrrha smiled at her friends, her teammates and finally added her own words. "I believe in you. All of you. That you'll all find what you're looking for and…. I guess… save the world…."

Ruby nodded, a small smile forming on her face forming as she felt Weiss's hand slip into hers. "And we wouldn't be following anyone else" the Heiress affirmed. Her eyes poured into Ruby's silvers

"Then let's go."

Pyrrha watched as the five of them departed from the house. Taiyang was out at Signal for the day, a note being the only thing left for him and Yang to explain their absence. Pyrrha sighed as she began to turn her wheelchair back towards the house. _How am I going to get up those stairs…_

Her question was answered when she heard footsteps crunching behind her in the snow. She snapped her head to see Jaune moments before she was lifted up out of her chair. Pyrrha felt his lips crash into hers and she reciprocated, wrapping her hands around his head and grabbing his hair.

When they separated, he had his silly smile. "Just wanted to uh, say goodbye." Jaune helped her to get back up to the entrance of the house on the porch before speaking again. "For now. I'll be back! And I'll see you in Argus when this is all over!" The knight ran back down the stairs and into the snow, rushing to make it back to his team.

The knight waved as he ran. "I love you!" he shouted to her as he ran, causing her to smile and shout "I love you too!" back, waving all the way until he was out of sight. Pyrrha took a deep breath and felt the ghost of his lips on hers and smiled contentedly.

Her parents would be coming soon. Perhaps in the next few days to take her back to Argus. The Amazon hadn't told them about her injuries yet, so she figured she might as well use the remaining time here to prepare to tell them. She rolled herself back into the house and saw Zwei run up to her. She pulled him up and put the dog in her lap, petting him when she did so. Pyrrha received gratuitous licks in response causing her to giggle until she put him down.

The girl looked out the window into the snow and room a deep breath.

Things would change. Things had changed. Especially with Jaune. Especially with what they did last night. She loved it and knew he did too. It was perfect.

Life would change. It always did. But she had her friends. She had her teammates and family. She was alive, crippled yes, but alive. And she had _him. _

Maybe she wouldn't walk. Maybe she would with a prosthetic. What the future held, she did not know.

But she knew it wouldn't be all bad. She refused to let it be all bad. Pyrrha smiled.

_Life will change. But for the better._

The sun shone brightly across the snowy forest home, the darkness fleeing from it, the serenity of a world with a new reality which she had learned. But in the end, the light of the sun beat away the darkness.

Pyrrha watched as a lone crow flew in the direction of Ruby and her friends.

_Volume I, fin. _

_To be continu-HRKHKK. A knife was ripped out from the man's neck, killing him instantly. A figure walked by. _

_**Several weeks ago...**_

The blood pooled from the officers throat as the knife was pulled out from it. He was monitoring a security feed that was covering the entrance way to Beacon ruins. So he had to die. The figure moved past like a shadow, having avoided as many guards and huntsmen as possible. The figure had no interest in the evacuation zones and safe zones. The Grimm were no threat to the figure, and the figure did not wish to draw attention by killing more than necessary. Though the figure could escape with ease if needed. The figures semblance was useful like that.

The figure strode through the rubble of the once proud and mighty Beacon Academy. No sounds were made as the figure stepped over long broken bodies and remains. Mostly White Fang and Atlesian knights. Grimm left behind nothing. The bodies of killed students were mostly recovered after the Fall, leaving only missing bodies unrecoverable. The figure did not encounter any of those missing bodies.

Slabs of stone and destroyed machinery littered the ground. From the distance the figure stood, the still burning wreckage of the hijacked ships from Atlas remained. The ship in which the figures former employer had been killed on, unknown if he had died before on board fighting the Silver-Eyed girl or if he died in the crash. Perhaps the figure would never know. Not that it mattered. Roman Torchwick was dead and the figure was alive.

The massive tower that was the former CCT Tower and office of the now deceased Headmaster Ozpin stood before the figure. Easily, the figure had made it past the remaining Valean police forces and was at the entrance of the vacated, blasted out remnants of the tower.

Inside it's once splendorous lobby was more rubble and broken shards of glass. A large, dry and visible blood stain was smeared all over the cracked green and blue floors. It was an identifiable mark of the lifeblood of one Mercury Black. The figure didn't know who or what killed him and in what manner, but that didn't really matter.

Standing by the hollow shell of the former elevator, the figure gazed down massive emptiness below. Clearly there was something down there, but that wasn't what the figure was looking for. Anything of value down there was taken by someone else. The truth was, the figures goal was above. The lead had led the figure here, and it was most likely high above rather than down below. So the choice was made to climb all the way up.

The top of the tower fared no better than the rest. It's roof was battered and completely destroyed, cogs thrown here and there, massive scorch marks from super-heated flame and the terrifying stone wyvern. Frozen in place after a bright flash was seen from the tower during the Fall.

Ozpin's broken table was in pieces, stone and glass littered the floor while several pillars were either broken or nearly toppled over. None of it mattered to the figure. So long as they were looking for was here.

And it was. The figure deactivated their semblance and knelt over their prize. A familiar one at that. Lying before the figure, buried in rubble and steel was half of the arrow. The useless part yes, but exactly what the figure was after.

"You can come out now Neo" he said as the second in command to Roman Torchwick appeared behind him. She was looking better than before, but still ... the man could sympathize with her greatly. He'd lost a family too, once. Perhaps that was why they were working closely now. Even if she couldn't talk, he understood emotions well enough to recognize emotional pain.

He rose from his kneeling stance to face her. She had her signature carousel, but had added something new to her wardrobe too. The hat of Roman Torchwick. The tall man tapped his forehead lightly out of respect for their fallen comrade. "I've finally found it" he then said to her, beckoning her over to his side to look at the broken half of the arrow.

The first thing that was noticeable about the man was that he was tall and incredibly muscular. He was wearing a black, hood-like headpiece from which were hanging several small, metallic baubles, bearing letters that made up his name. The piece hid his hair; though his light, silver bangs almost reach his eyebrows. Red-eyed, his sclera was completely black.

Bare-chested, he wore a long, black, lapel-less coat with straps crossing his chest in an X; and pants in thick horizontal stripes of black and white.

"It's not _her's_. It's _his._"

His target. His goal. The whole reason he'd signed with Torchwick. The whole reason he agreed to help Neo deal with Cinder. Just so he could see the look on _his _face when he died.

"He was here. The arrow is always on him and whatever body he's in. Did you find the school rosters yet?" Neo nodded and handed over a scroll to him. He grinned lightly, one filled with malicious intent as he looked through the names. He crossed it with his news reports from the Fall, directly from eye witness accounts. The people seen at the tower. Ruby Rose, who he was already aware of. Weiss Schnee. Jaune Arc. Pyrrha Nikos. Any of them were candidates for his host.

For Diavolo's next body.

"Finally…." he murmured as he looked at their school images. His eyes caught the blond hair of one Jaune Arc and the silver eyes of a one Ruby Rose. "I've finally narrowed you down to four people. Four. And now I'm coming for you. _Diavolo…_

The assassin shut down the scrolls and handed Neo's back to her. He grasped the broken arrow tightly. "When do we set out? You told me that you last heard their little group was heading to Haven?"

Neo nodded, affirming his information. His new partner began to turn from him and walk to sit down on a broken piece of rock.

He walked over to her as well, ready to go.

"Then there's nothing else left here."

Risotto Nero took one last look at the broken, destroyed room that was once Headmaster Ozpin's office.

"I'm coming Diavolo. I can't wait to see your face when you die!" Risotto repeated under his breath as Neo activated her semblance, taking them far, far away.

La Squadra Execucion, the Assassin Squad, his family, would finally be avenged, alongside Roman Torchwick.

Risotto Nero and Neo Politan swore that on every deity out there.

And no one could hide from two assassins in partnership.

_To be continued…._

* * *

**A/N: There you have it. The finale of the first half of Skipping Through Beacon. What started as a little idea in my head has grown to such a massive size, it's truly unbelievable. I love everyone's who's read this story. I can't believe this fic has broken 110+ favorites, 170+ follows and 20k+ viewers It's phenomenal. Thank you all so much. I hope you look forward to the second half and conclusion to this wild story.**

**Now for the actual chapter. This was the longest but most fun yet to write. Lots of things happening with lots of changes to the timeline. Pyrrha survives! But is crippled. But gets with Jaune! Bruno, Abbacchio and Narancia are dead, leaving only Mista alive, who is also revealed to be a faunus! Blake and him have departed and will be effectively leaving the narrative for now. The same goes for Yang and Pyrrha, albeit they will appear briefly next chapter, with Yang specifically having a special little Arc before she goes after her mother. **

**Team RNJWR forms, with Weiss flipping the bird to dad. Jacques never took her back because Trish Una gave him boatloads of cash to let her stay on Patch for a few months. That of course, isn't forever and doesn't apply to a cross continental journey. Pyrrha returns to Argus and will stay there for the rest of the narrative. The overarching plotline and ending has been set up. Perhaps you can figure out what it is? **

**The two biggest things however, is the large story setup for Blake and Mista and a new villain. **

**I've decided that Blake and Mista's adventure on Menagerie deserves its own story. It will come after Skipping Through Beacon is finished completely.**

**Risotto Nero enters as the third villain of this story, which filled be focused on between Cinder, Diavolo and Risotto. Each will have a story arc and each will (hopefully!) be dealt with by the end. **

**I sincerely hope you enjoyed the first half of Skipping Through Beacon! What I would love is if you could leave a comment saying what you think! It can be criticism, suggestions, questions, even flat out hate! I love all comments. I'm an addict I know.**

**I'll also open it up for a Q&A in the comments, so ask away please!**

**And one last thing to round this off. **

**HOW BOUT EM COWBOYS?**

**To all my readers who are Birds fans: You will lose the division. We will win. Cry birds cry. **

**Until next time my friends! **

**Peace **


	11. Chapter 11: Golden Wind

**VOLUME 2**

The shade of the forest blocked out most of the fresh sunrise. It's beaming rays were scattered around in patches along the ground, the light visible through cracks in the canopy above. By no means was dark, but it could certainly be brightened. It didn't matter much to one half of the party, but the other half made her silent insistence known.

Risotto Nero and Neo Politan traveled silently through Anima, one by choice and one by birth. Or at least, that was what Risotto figured, although he wouldn't doubt it if she was made that way. She was Roman's number two after all, and the gentleman thief certainly had his enemies. He didn't quite know what their relationship was and he didn't really care in the end. As long as he got what he was after, he would happily avenge his former employer with her.

Their trek began early in the winter, following trails left behind by an obvious band of travelers heading towards Haven. It was amateurish of them for certain, but somehow they'd managed to stay one step ahead of them all the way into spring.

The trail became much harder to follow. Especially with an uptick in Grimm presence. While his Semblance was second to none when used to kill people, it was somewhat useless against those creatures of darkness, for they had no blood to use. No

blood meant no iron, which meant nothing to magnetize. He could still fend for himself if there was iron in the rocks nearby, but he preferred to let Neo deal with any pests.

The forecast on his scroll said it would rain around the afternoon, so he pulled out his map to scout out villages they could spend the night at. It irked him that they'd been forced to make several stops during much of the rainy season, though it was a small relief knowing his prey had to stop as well.

They neared the village as the clouds above swirled into what would be a long and rainy night. Neo and Nero entered the little inn and ignored the pleasantries. A simple transaction of lien and a place to stay was all they wanted. Not jovial interaction with bar keeps and patrons.

The two entered their room and immediately separated to do their own tasks. Neo sat on one of the two beds while Risotto sat at the table with the map. His scroll had images of the students they were tracking. After a little while, Risotto felt that terribly unnerving feeling he got when being watched by Neo. His red eyes edged to his rear to look at her. She was watching him with her multi-colored eyes, her pink and brown hair mirroring them in a way he could only describe as terrifyingly memorizing. "Why don't you go downstairs. Get a meal and drink. I'm sure it will be better than sitting there doing nothing."

It was more of a recommendation than a command. While he was in charge of the once strong assassination squad of Roman's criminal group, Neo was always above him in rank. He respected that and so long as they were partners, he'd keep that precarious balancing act with her.

She peeled up at that, nodding fervently. Risotto tossed her some lien, making a request for some food himself. He was used to long periods of time without food before, but every man needed to eat all the same.

His eyes were back on his map well before he heard the sound of the door close and the steps of the finely dressed Neo heading downstairs.

"Now…" he muttered. Along his map were crossed out sections, question marks and a line that had been adjusted more times than he could count. There were places he'd ruled out, places that his quarry might stop at and the most likely path they'd be taking to reach Haven. So far, according to all the information he had, they were very close and very accurate. _Still. They keep getting ahead of us…. _

His crimson eyes fluttered towards the scroll, a single finger swiping left gently to gaze at all the students. Jaune Arc, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. He ruled out the last three candidates as potential hosts for Diavolo, leaving only Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose as his target. If he couldn't narrow it down by the time he met them, he'd just kill them both.

Risotto was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn't notice how much time had passed and more importantly he only noticed that Neo hadn't come back until he heard a blood wrenching scream from down below. Once he reached the bottom floor of the inn he saw a familiar sight. The patrons of the bar looked utterly terrified, while the owner was rushing to tell his wife to get their little Dust-shotgun.

A man was heaving and screaming, a fork jabbed deep in his hand which kept it stuck to the tabletop. Neo was happily eating a nice little sandwich, neatly made. It was like she had no knowledge of what she had done. "Guhhhh, YOU BITCH!" The man screamed at Neo, but she paid no mind, only waving at Risotto.

"What the hell are you two doin?" The barkeep said with his gun in hand. Risotto looked at him with his deep red eyes. Then he ignored his question and looked right towards Neo, walking towards her.

"Neo, what happened here?"

The heterochromatic girl only pointed to the screaming man then back to herself. Her finger trailed down to her breast, then pointed back to the man. She shook her head twice before smirking. Risotto got it pretty quickly. Some patron thought they could get lucky with a small girl like Neo and got more than they bargained for. Risotto waved his hand lightly from his crossed arms, causing the fork to tear itself out of his hand. It was not done kindly, causing an even louder scream.

"You… you fucking bitch. You messed with the wrong man! You're dead!" he screeched out, reaching for his firearm. It looked like a Schnee Dust powered gun. Risotto scanned his surroundings and noticed that most of the other patrons had similar markings to the fork-man. _Must be a gang…_

His theory was confirmed when he saw the weapons the others had at their tables.

Neo kept eating without a care as the man raised his gun to her templed and fired. A gasp of shock went through the bar as Neo shattered into glass and then walked out from behind Risotto. She held a smug look, trotting with her carousel. He smirked.

While Neo had more useful Semblance against both man and Grimm, Risotto Nero's Semblance was distinctively suited towards killing people. Risotto spun his hand lightly and watched his power go into effect.

The fork-man spun his gun around to fire again. "You stupid fuckers are gonna pay! No fucks with a gang member like me and gets away with it! No dumb semblance can sa-" His words were caught in his throat as his hand went limp and the gun fell to the floor with a clatter. Those around him could only watch in horror.

Slowly emerging, visible from his throat, was the shape of a large pair of scissors and it was widening. This was no illusion. A large pair of scissors had found itself inside the fork-mans throat, cutting his insides to pieces. The sound it made when it ripped open was disgusting. His throat was torn open and the scissors fell out, having done the deed. Blood pooled at his feet.

Risotto turned towards the bar keep and put a large sum of lien on the table, urging him to go back to his room with his wife. Then he turned to the horrified gangsters. "Neo, if you would" he asked in a low, but polite tone.

She didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

Today was a good day. The birds were singing, the sun was shining and they'd made good headway towards Haven. Oh, and there was a Geist possessing a giant tree thing. That wasn't so nice.

"GUWAH!" Jaune cried out in fear as he jumped over a long swing from the possessive Grimm. Thankfully it lost focus on him when it say a flash of red rose petals mixed with white fly past its head. High above, Ruby Rose let go of Weiss Schnee who at once used her weapon to unleash a glyph that rained down shards of ice upon the demon. She quickly bounced through the air with more glyphs as Ruby flew down with her semblance to cut through one of its stone legs.

Jaune saw from the corner of his eye, Ren and Nora drawing its attention from one place to another with their weapons. Pink grenades flew and exploded against the beasts body as it tried to track each and every one of them. The blond knight smirked at the sight of his plan working!

He wasn't wearing any armor, nor did he have his trusty sword, Crocea Mors. All he had was his Pumpkin Pete hoodie that sat snugly over the mesh hair net-like thing Diavolo wore beneath.

He wasn't totally defenseless, as he still had his powerful semblance, King Crimson. Even though he could only roughly erase four seconds of time, it counted. Jaune had even tried to use the semblance itself for attack, though was not nearly as proficient as his shared soul was.

Jaune Arc triggered his subpower, Epitaph, using the bangs of his hair to peer into the events of the next ten seconds which showed him the future as it would occur.

Ren jumped out from cover and ran towards one of the legs of the Grimm, when he found himself standing behind the large possessed leg. His magenta eyes shot towards Jaune who had instantly appeared somewhere else. Ren saw the Semblance of his team leader flare as King Crimson raised and threw a punch that cracked the right leg of the Geist.

The beast roared and Ren began fired up at it before rushing forth back into the fight. He heard Jaune shout out a new command, having come up with a plan on the fly. "Take our it's limbs and then we can take out the center!"

Jaune heard several shouts of affirmation before he rushed towards one of the legs of the Geist, the same one he had struck before. From the corner of his eye he saw Ren and Nora running towards the other rock leg, a grin on the orange haired girl's face. "King Crimson!" Jaune shouted, skipping past time to arrange himself in a position to jam the fist of his Semblance back into.

When time resumed, King Crimson's fist crashed into the same spot as before. Jaune felt a wave of exhaustion hit him as he did so, but it was necessary.

The sound of rock cracking told him he'd done his job. He turned to the rest of his teammates. Nora had hammered the Grimm's leg while Ren kept it distracted. "Ruby!" he called out to get Nora to attack the arms.

"On it!" The girl exploded into a ray of petals and swept Nora up from the ground, before letting her go high above. The bubbly hammer wielder smirked as she spun in the air and pulled her weapon back. The hammer crashed into one of the Geists tree arms, cracking it into dozens of splinters. The Grimm itself began to wander its eye across the battlefield, perhaps thinking it was time to abandon this possession.

"Weiss! It's going to get away! Get the other leg!"

The Ice Queen nodded with a smirk as she slammed her rapier into the ground, a white glyph shining beneath its point as she did. Emerging from a larger, shining white glyph, was the blue arm of the Arma Gigas, a massive sword in its hand. With one swing the summoned creature crashed through rock and dirt and wood to cause the possessed body to start falling forward

He used Epitaph and saw that the Grimm would be flying out any second now. Unless he acted, of course. "King Crimson!" he shouted. Like usual, the world broke apart and left only those movements he wished to see.

The moment the Geist rushes out of its possessed body was skipped over, leaving the Grimm out of its shell. However, to it, the creature must have still thought it was within its possessed body and bolted outwards, unaware of its actual position.

"Ruby! The Geist! It's going it, get it!" Weiss shouted as she felt the strain of the summoning on her aura. Ren was quickly at her side with Jaune to steady her.

Ruby broke into a run and activated her own semblance to fly right towards the fleeing Geist, undoing it to slice the Grimm right in two with Crescent Rose. It gave off a pained screech before vanishing into a thick cloud of smoke just as the now empty shell of a body crashed to the ground, kicking up dust everywhere.

"That… was… AWESOME!" Nora shouted as she ran up to the rest of her teammates. Weiss was panting lightly, but had a smile on her face.

"I will admit, that was ... fun…"

Nora kept going on about everyone's attacks, as well as Jaune's tactics, even though he wasn't the true leader of their newly formed team.

Ruby Rose flew down in a burst of petals with her wide silver eyes and smile to practically tackle Weiss with a big hug and a kiss. "Ruby! We-No, we're in public!"

"I didn't hear you say that when Jaune kissed Pyrrha!"

The three standing teens chuckled lightly as Ruby Rose showered her girlfriend with affection for her role in taking down the Grimm. When the two were finally standing up again, Ruby had a big, goofy smile on her face and Weiss had a streak of red on hers, blushing over the whole incident. Not to say that she didn't enjoy it. Because by god she did.

"Well, I guess we should go back to town then, tell them we beat it!" Jaune informed them, the team all agreeing.

"Ohhh I can't wait to see your upgraded gear!" Nora said with excitement in her voice. Jaune only nervously chuckled and waved it off, but he was honestly excited too. His armor had been heavily damaged during the Fall and they had finally found someone capable of repairing it, as well as upgrading it. Suffice to say, Jaune was pleased he wasn't going to have to rely on his Semblance for offense anymore.

**Do not think this means you can simply ignore fighting with King Crimson! It's power far outweighs your little sword.**

"Hey! That little sword means a lot to me! Plus I think I'm pretty good with it!" he snapped back loudly. His teammates just had to keep walking and pretend that he didn't sound like a crazy person, which he truly did sound like. Even if they knew the reality of it, it didn't make it any less creepy.

**I still expect you to train with the Crimson King! You must reach at least five seconds of time erasure if you are to even stand a chance against that miserable usurper!**

Jaune felt Diavolo's anger course through him. The thought of Cinder infuriated his second soul. Whatever he had been planning to do with the Fall Maiden's powers, it must have been pretty important to make him this angry about it. _Once I find his journal…._

Diavolo didn't need to know about that, not until it was too late anyways. "So, once we get back to town, we can rest up and get going? I think the next town is uh…." Jaune muttered as he searched for the map.

_Uh oh_

**You…. **

The entirety of Team RNJWR was looking back at Jaune, each with a look that matches their personality. Weiss looked annoyed, Ren disappointed, while Ruby and Nora gave him that look filled with pity. "It's ok Jaune…." Ruby said at last as they made it back into town. "We can always ask the guy in your head for directions…."

"Yeaaa…" he muttered back glumly as they made their way to the blacksmithy. Inside, a large faunus was standing at the counter. His eyes lit up when he saw his customers enter and recognized them at once. "Ah! My friends! You've come just in time! That order of yours is just finished!" the big man boomed and beckoned them inside.

The blacksmiths shop was a cozy place, polished mahogany inviting them in to look at weapons and armor displayed on stands and racks. The blacksmith was out again fairly soon with Jaune's reforged armor and his upgraded sword and shield.

"This is some pretty good metal son. Where'd you get it from?"

His sword and shield were accented and modified with bronze, his shield bearing the design of Pyrrha's crown. She had given him her armor before he'd departed, with the intention of forging a new chestplate for him. "From a friend…."

"Well, go ahead, try it on!"

Jaune took his new armor greedily and examined it briefly before sliding it over his hoodie. The armor was designed to accommodate his Semblance as well as his sword and shield fighting style. The metal was lighter, and the new armor was smaller too. His pauldrons and gauntlets were abandoned in favor of the chestpiece alone, which had a bronze accents as well. There was a red sash that belonged to Pyrrha along his belt.

Jaune took his sword too and placed it in its shield-sheath on his hip. "Look at you Mr. Muscles!" Nora beamed as Jaune wilted nervously.

"Aw c'mon, it's not all-"

Jaune felt himself stumble as his hand reached out to the wooden counter. He could see his friends mouthing words but he didn't hear a single one. Ruby and Weiss were stretching out their arms to try and hold him upwards but his vision faded out. Only the memories remained for him.

"_-rno Arc!..." the voice of Diavolo echoed in his mind as Jaune saw the flashing memories of a street, of blood coming out of a golden haired man's chest. _

"_The power…"_

"_Arrow…"_

"_Rejected you…"_

_Jaune witnessed a figure flash in the memory._

"_Experience…."_

_Jaune he heard coming from what must have been his friends_

"_Gio…" The memory repeated. _

_The whir of memories whizzed by until he was back._

Jaune gasped for air as his eyes shot open once more. _Where am I? _He thought with a panic. His vision readjusted to his surroundings to see his friends with very concerned etched on their faces. "Jaune?" Ruby said with deep worry. "Are you alright?"

The boy nodded weakly before pulling himself up. At some point he must have fallen down. He wiped off some dust and spoke again. "How long was I out?"

"A few minutes" Ren said.

Jaune rubbed his chin before shrugging. _They don't need to know about it… _ he told himself. There was no need to worry them about his problem. They didn't need to concern themselves about him of all people. Jaune waved them off when it looked like Nora was about to say something. "I must have been lightheaded. Maybe we can get something to eat before we go?" he quickly suggested, to which everyone agreed after a little while.

As Jaune left the blacksmith shop with his friends, he wondered about how much of this memory Diavolo had seen. It had been the third one he had, the first being at Patch, while the second being when they started their journey in Anima. They all were consistent on a few things. The arrow. Diavolo. His past. And that mysterious blond haired man who _must _have had some connection to Jaune. He'd discerned that it must have been one of his ancestors, given the memories he had been seeing all named him as an Arc. _Gio something Arc ... strange…._

That mysterious golden figure perplexed him too. It was so much like King Crimson But… not…

He felt his soul flare. His stomach grumbled for food but he definitely felt something rush through his aura. Was Diavolo doing something?

**Jaune…. that….**

The knight gulped. He might have seen! He'd gotten lucky before but he really had no idea what Diavolo had seen or would do!

… **Weapon is worthless!**

Jaune let out a deep breath of relief. Diavolo was still going on about Crocea Mors. If that was on his mind and not the memories, it was fine by him. As Jaune began to mentally argue with his second soul about the value of his weapon compared to his Semblance alone, Team RNJWR managed to get some decent food and then head off towards the general direction of Haven and Diavolo's old home, somewhere south of the city.

All without a map of course.

Because Jaune had lost it.

* * *

Repetition had become the sole constant in her life. Every morning she would wake up and sit silently for an hour. Then she'd eat a meager breakfast and awkwardly fumble around the house with no purpose until she went back upstairs to think. She'd then repeat with lunch and dinner. Ad infinitum ever since Pyrrha left.

Today was no different as Yang sat in the wooden chair, having just finished her small breakfast. Her appetite was gone for the most part these days, settling for only a simple morning meal of oatmeal with juice. Nothing else. She was just sitting there with one arm, her only arm, on the table. Squeezing it open and shut. Sighing, the blond girl rose weakly to try and do something in the house. It was the least she could do for her beleaguered father who had to juggle teaching at Signal and taking care of her cripple daughter.

_Even more useless now _she thought bitterly. Months alone had left her with plenty of time to fester countless thoughts of self-hatred and loathing. If she had been faster. Smarter. Better. Maybe her sister wouldn't have gone off. Maybe her arm would still be there.

Maybe Blake would…

She grit her teeth as she shook _her_ out of her mind. Her cat faunus partner, who had ran off with Guido Mista for god knows what, was the last thing she wanted to think about. Frankly, she'd be fine never seeing her again. No matter how much it hurts to imagine life without Blake, because she was experiencing it now.

She went to the sink and gently turned the water on. It dribbled out at first but then broke into a gentle stream of liquid ready to be used for washing. Yang idly took a glass with one hand and placed it under the water. The teen didn't know how to really wash it with one arm so she miserably held it up till it was full and then drained it. She repeated until she thought it was fairly clean. As she moved it away from the tap, she felt her fingers slipping and the glass falling.

When it shattered she heard the sound of a blade slicing, flesh and bone rending. Screaming and the red hatred of _his_ hair, his sword, his mask. Yang was panting when she returned to the present. Her own hand was clutching her chest as her lilac eyes widened and glanced around her. _He's here, he's come for me! He's going to kill dad and I can't DO ANYTHING TO STOP HIM! WHY AM I SO USELESS? SO WORTHLESS?_

"Yang?" She suddenly heard. It was her father's voice which dragged her out of the darkness. Taiyang Xiao-Long had stopped the tap water and looked at his eldest daughter. He could see the panic, the shock, the sweat. She'd just come back from that night. Again. Tai had noticed it quite a bit that Yang was still at Beacon in a way. It hurt him deeply to see his fiery little dragon brought so low.

"Dad?" she weakly croaked and blinked. She went to raise her arms only to have the one touch him and awkwardly hug him. She let her tears pour down her face and into his shoulder. "I'm worthless…." she cried softly as her father ran his hands through her hair.

"No, you're not. You're not worthless. Not me and not to anyone else."

She cried and wished that she had been stronger. For Ruby and Weiss, for Jaune and Pyrrha and their team. Even…. even for Blake. Maybe if she had been stronger she wouldn't have run away. She sighed and dabbed away the tears from her face and weakly looked at her father, who smiled back. "We're having guests over tomorrow night" he began to say, which caught her attention.

"You'll see" he said with a smile and a wink before kissing her on the forehead and leading her out of the kitchen. "I'll clean up for you." Yang only nodded but felt miserable that her father had to clean up something as simple as breakfast and a broken glass. She sighed and went back upstairs.

The following night, Yang heard the sound of the doorbell ringing and two familiar sounds. _Port… and Oobleck?_... _What are they doing here?_ She wondered, but then realized it was probably normal given that her dad worked at Signal. Teachers probably spent time together too. It was weird to think of her professors as people with their social lives sometimes.

"Tai!" The low and booming voice of Port was audible even from upstairs. "It's good to see you old friend! How's Signal been treating you!"

Yang didn't catch what her dad said but it must have been funny to make Port laugh. Or it must have been something dumb. Probably the latter. Yang then heard Oobleck speak up in that rushed tone of his.

"Has our other peer arrived yet?"

_Other peer? _she pondered. Maybe they meant Goodwitch? Or maybe Ironwood? No, both of them were too busy to come to a little get together on Patch. "Not yet" she heard her father say. "But he did send me a message on the scroll that he's landed in Patch. He should be here soon."

"I do hope so" Professor Port interjected. "Young Miss Xiao-Long should be back in action as soon as possible. We'd be remiss without a huntress of her caliber!"

"Indeed" Oobleck said in agreement.

_What? What do they mean? Do they not know I'm a worthless fucking cripple! _Her mood soured. What the hell did they know. As she brooded, she felt her stomach grumble. _Damn…. well I guess it won't be too bad to see them._

Yang quietly came down the stairs, lingering at the edge for a moment as Port and Oobleck gathered in the kitchen with her father. After at least five minutes of watching, she heard a knock at the door. "Yang!" Tai called out, having evidently seen her the whole time and settling on saying nothing till now. "Please get the door! It must be our friend from Atlas!"

Yang nodded without protest and staggered towards the door, opening it slowly. She expected General Ironwood, but what she got was ... someone else.

He was exceptionally tall. Probably six foot five if she was to guess, with jet black hair and green eyes and a stern face. His dress was exceptionally unique as well.

His outfit was a long, white trench coat that was in the style of a school uniform with an upturned coat collar and a single fitted shirt. His hat was visored and white, and it almost seemed to merge with his hair. He had tessellated cuffs too.

Underneath, the tall man wore a small, open, lapel-less waistcoat patterned with alternating circles and crosses over a black turtleneck with a palm emblem on the neck. His hat had a row of black Venus symbols with an arrow at the bottom of the cross which made them resemble anchors, along with a golden palm emblem. His had two black belts holding up white pants and black boots, with the bottom having a small pouch attached to it.

"Woah" was all Yang could say at the imposing man. She noticed he had a yellow box tucked in his arms.

"Yang? Who is it?" Her dad yelled out as he walked out of the kitchen to see his guest.

"Ah! Professor Kujo! You finally made it!"

_Professor… Kujo?... From Atlas?! _

He was a pretty big deal ... even to those at Beacon. Tall, handsome, imposing, an excellent student and teacher. He has taught mostly at Haven but left for Atlas a few years ago she had heard. He also had an incredibly powerful semblance that few really knew about.

He sighed and finally spoke, looking straight at Yang.

"So you're Yang? Gimme a break…" was all he said as he walked in.

_Huh? _Was all she could come to as Professor Kujo set the box down on the counter and walked towards the kitchen, walking in a giving his colleagues a small, simple greeting. He was a man of few words.

Yang followed, incredibly confused as to why he was so interested in her. She walked towards the kitchen, looking for answers….

This was gonna be a busy night.

* * *

"Jaune…."

"Jaune….."

Ruby bolted awake. The sound of a voice had woken her, alongside the distant sound of grunting. Ruby rubbed her silver eyes and looked around their little campsite. The fire was mostly embers now. All the bedrolls has occupants in them, except for one. _Jaune._

She silently rose from her sleeping bag in order to not wake Weiss, who was curled by her in a white sleeping bag that was right by her own. Slipping out, she began to walk towards the source of the noise.

The forest was beautiful at night. The stars were somewhat visible beneath the canopy but the true beauty came from the flashing fireflies that burned bright in the dark of night. They were like a beacon of light guiding her way towards her goal.

The noise became louder, as she was now able to discern what exactly it was. It sounded like a semblance activating and the grunts of a man training.

Ruby saw it at last. Clutching the side of a tree, she watched as Jaune swung his sword in a slashing motion. He was training in an open clearing beneath the stars. But what was most intriguing was that he was practicing with his Semblance as well.

King Crimson hovered by him, though time did not skip. Jaune took a deep breath and willed his Semblance forward to lob two thick punches at the air, which flew with such a force that the wave kicked up dirt, stones and twigs into the air. "HYEAH!" She heard Jaune shout as he followed up with a thrust.

He was always so strategic and tactical, but she never really knew how well he was at learning. How dedicated. He was mixing the strength of his Semblance with his established fighting style. Ruby had no doubt he would be lethal with it. Ruby smiled but found herself walking back towards the camp when she really wanted to just lean on the tree. With a soft "Eep" she leaned on nothing and collapsed. Thankfully it coincided with another grunt from Jaune. _Stupid time skip. Always so annoying! _she grumbled in her mind. Still, it was useful to have such a powerful ability on their side. _As long as we get that arrow before Diavolo…._

Pyrrha had told Ruby all about Diavolo's diary and how they needed to read it. It was their technical first location, just south of Mistral itself. Supposedly Jaune was coming up with a plan. Whatever it was they'd do it together. All of them.

Ruby decided that she needed to get some sleep and hoped Jaune would finish up too soon.

Jaune however, was not close to being finished.

He was dealing with Diavolo's new training regiment and he really was starting to get tired. **Strike now! **Diavolo commanded in his mind and he obeyed. King Crimson appeared and lobbed two punches, though to the head and not the body as Diavolo wanted. **You did not strike their vital spots.**

_I know._

**Why?**

_Because I'm not a murderer like you! You already used my body to kill Mercury! I'm not killing anyone…._

**That's a lie and you know it, my sweet Jaune…**

_Stop calling me that… I… I don't know what you're talking about. _

**But we are the same, are we not? I can feel it in your soul my cute little Jaune. **

**You want to kill Cinder Fall just as much as I do…**

Jaune grit his teeth and sheathed his sword. "We're done for the night" he spat out before turning around to head back to the camp. Jaune felt terrible and not just because he was tired. It was because he knew how right Diavolo was.

He did want to kill Cinder Fall. For attacking Beacon. For nearly killing Pyrrha and crippling her for life. For being the reason the world was in this mess. For Yang and Blake and Mista. For everyone else that suffered because one woman and her evil masters actions.

As he slipped into his sleeping bag and shut his eyes, he was blasted with another wave of memories.

"_Golden…"_

_The arrow was there and it was being thrust into something ... someone's chest? _

_There was blood._

_Diavolo circled another man who was kneeling, a twisted grin on his face. _

_A pillar collapsed. _

Jaune didn't know what they meant as he faded into sleep, but he needed answers soon.

He needed Diavolo's diary.

_To be continued.._

* * *

**A/N: Rather short chapter that took me way too long to write. Should be easier going forward now that the ball is rolling. Please let me know what you think and comment! It can be literally anything from praise, ideas, thoughts, theories to criticism! **

**I love all reviews and neeeed more.**

**Onto other things. Volume 7 Episode 1 was fantastic. I'm incredibly excited, because frankly I just love this show and it's wonderful characters so much.**

**And as always, football talk: HOW BOUT DEM COWBOYS! Sure we beat an easy team but a wins a win. We're beating the Vikings this Sunday, no questions! It's Jerry World time baby.**

**Until next time! **


	12. Chapter 12: Stardust Man Appears

She didn't quite know when she had been pulled out of that swirling pool of eternal darkness. Feeling had left her when that bright white light shone with a destructive flame and left her weak. She couldn't even tell when or how she'd escaped or even recovered.

What Cinder Fal did know was weakness. Such utter weakness. Humiliation. Pain. Hate.

Her voice was gone for a good while and only recently had she been able to speak at all, albeit weakly. It did her no favors with her associates, bar one. Her right arm felt raw day in and day out, like it just didn't fit in its socket and was just waiting to fall off. In a way, that was true. It wasn't meant to be there, but it was all the same. _She_ had made it so.

Mirrors made her scowl. She had a good form of course, but seeing the damage done to her face was ... anger including. Emerald perhaps could have made an illusion for her but Cinder wanted reality. That protective face covering that her hair only just covered. Of course, that didn't stop the smug doctor or the twisted scorpion from making their snide remarks.

It made her miss Mercury. If he was still alive to hear it, then he would have laughed. At least when Mercury made his little comments, she'd know whose side he was on and that was hers. Now he was a body in the hands of Ironwood who no doubt was going to make use of those legs of his.

Cinder would have said a prayer for the departed if she believed in any such thing. Mercury was gone, sent to oblivion while she was still here. It was a reminder to how close she had come to the edge of the abyss at Beacon.

It also reminded her of who was responsible. Jaune Arc. Pyrrha Nikos. Ruby Rose. _Diavolo. _Their names made her blood boil. Emerald made little illusions of them as she slowly became more comfortable with her Maidens power. The hunger she felt in her body had been mostly resolved after she absorbed a majority of the Fall Maiden's aura. However, that quarter that was trapped in that accursed arrow made her thrash. The aching feeling in her bones, in her heart and mind. The tantalizing desire to be reunited with a power that called to her. She needed it soon else she'd go mad simply craving the fullness it would bring.

And the suffering she'd unleash on those that wronged her. From childhood to her present. She was already stronger than Watts, Hazel and Tyrian combined and when she was complete she'd put them in their place. She was Salem's second. Not them.

She'd make them all know who she was. The FALL Maiden.

"You've barely said a word" a thin, but simple and eerily soothing voice said from behind her. Cinder could feel Emerald shrinking besides her as the stride of their master came closer. Salem looked at the brown skinned girl with little interest before stepping past Cinder and looking at her. "Are you going to continue playing little games with illusions, or must I make you train with your powers?"

When Cinder opened her mouth to speak she found as usual, her voice was faint and gravely. Weak, like her. "I…"

Salem's red eyes narrowed. "You what? You're still recovering?"

Cinder fell silent as her fists curled up. "I...I've been fueling myself.."

"Ah…. revenge…." Salem tittered. Her master knew the power of revenge. How it could drive someone to achieve anything. Cinder nodded to confirm it. She craved revenge. "A list of names it seems. Did those children truly give you that much trouble?..." Her words were intentionally taunting. She wanted to see what Cinder would do.

Cinder grit her teeth. "It wasn't ... the students…."

Salem's lips twisted into a disgusting visage that one could only assume was a smile. A sick, wicked smile belonging to the embodiment of evil. "Ah…. so it was him…. Diavolo…"

Cinder watched her master carefully as she seemingly floated across the room to her other side. "I knew him once" she began to speak again. "A brilliant man. I still don't quite know what he did to be sticking around like this. He was a man who wanted to stay on top of the world. A criminal kingpin and scientist as well as a simple father of three. He kept all of his little secret lives apart. Would you like to know how?" Salem said rhetorically. Of course Cinder did.

"His powerful little semblance and a disorder of his brain. Dissociative identity disorder is what they call it these days."

Salem shrugged. She didn't care about it much anyways. It was a mortal, human problem.

"Of course, he tried to stay at his little top by playing both Ozm-pin and I. It didn't work for long. Ozpin and I had him killed. One of the few times we worked together on something." Salem mused of that time long by. A brief respite in their eternal war to remove an interloper who had lofty ambitions. "But somehow he's back…. well, it doesn't matter. You will destroy him for good."

Cinder's eyes burned with both literal fire and the flames of revenge. She wanted all those brats dead, and that demon too. It was he who tore out half her face and left it a dead, scarred mess. It was Ruby Rose who burned away her arm with those accursed silver eyes. Pyrrha Nikos who challenged her invincible power and her throne as Fall Maiden. And that worthless Arc who hosted Diavolo within him, not to mention plucking her eye out with that sword of his.

"Good…" Salem practically purred. She began to make her exit. "Because tomorrow I'm going to send every Grimm you can think of to kill you. Don't let them…"

Cinder knew she meant it. She'd genuinely send her creatures to kill the new Fall Maiden and find another to serve her purposes. Her life was meaningless and as expendable as the rest of she didn't prove herself. Cinder shook the fear from herself and grit her teeth. "I'll… be.. ready…" she croaked out regardless of the fact that her master had departed already.

Cinder turned to Emerald and motioned her head to continue. The first illusion was the champion with her bright red hair. Burned away by her power. Cinder turned that illusion to dust. Then came the knight with his sword. Cinder broke his body to bloody pieces. The silver eyes girl came third and Cinder viciously dealt with her.

Finally, a tall, broad shouldered man with long pink, polka-dotted hair. A criminal, a semblance, a spirit. Her enemy. The thief who held some of her power.

She screamed, though it came out like a rough shriek as she tore into the illusion.

Salem grinned as she heard the sound, knowing fully how much the rage and desire for revenge would drive her new Fall Maiden.

All as Salem desired.

* * *

Having guests over wasn't a new concept for Yang. In the past she'd seen scores of houseguests of all shapes and sizes. Sometimes she enjoyed them and sometimes she didn't. But this was a wholly new experience. She'd never had a guest stay _this_ long before. Professor Kujo, the towering stoic who brought her a robotic arm, showed no signs of leaving the Xiao-Long household. If her dad was against it, he hadn't said anything so far.

Professor Kujo was a very quiet man Yang had learned. He liked things simple and stuck to a schedule. He woke up a six every morning, worked out for an hour before going through about a dozen stacks of paper all in time for breakfast. Then he'd spend time speaking with Taiyang before leaving for a little while and returning a little bit after lunch. The rest of his day was spent doing administrative work for Atlas academy.

She had barely interacted with over his stay. She wasn't particularly enthused about the robotic arm and had simply left it on her bedside counter. If the professor was annoyed he made no show of it. Yang had seen him annoyed before, when she went out to help him with something.

It was awful for both of them. Awkward silence pervaded between them and the miserable feeling of every we glancing towards her wherever they went. Glancing at that missing arm. Yang saw the pity or fear in their eyes. She was a crippled huntress in training. No good to anyone anymore. She had rushed for the solace of her room as soon as they returned home.

This morning she had caught Professor Kujo during his exercises. The blond brawler couldn't deny the fact she was curious about the imposing professor. He had no armor, which wasn't all that unusual really, but he had absolutely no weapon. She'd no idea what he was doing but clearly he had to be doing something. The man was muscled and fit, even more than Pyrrha was before her crippling. Yang wondered if Atlas gave the champion some kind of robotic legs. She hoped they did. _But then why can't I just…. do it…._ Yang felt guilty. She had no idea if Pyrrha was going to get robotic replacements of this quality. And here she was, not using them.

Yang stood at the edge of the backyard door, the one that led to their back patio. Professor Kujo's hat and jacket (two things she practically swore were attached to his flesh) were off, having found comfy homes on one of the many netted chairs. Zwei was idly running around on the grass. The professor's hair was messy and deep jet black that enunciated his stern face. He took several deep breaths that reminded Yang of Ren. _I wonder how they're doing…._

She still didn't know if she was mad at Ruby still for leaving.

Yang watched him repeat his meditations for ten minutes and was about to give up out of boredom before she saw him move. "Gimme a break…." she heard him say, his favorite set of words apparently. Professor Kujo was looking right at her. He sighed and beckoned her out back.

Yang obeyed and stood before him, looking up at the tall mountain of a man. "You're not wearing it" was all he said after examining her.

"Huh?"

"The arm. You're not wearing it."

Yang's eye twitched. That was all he could say? That was all he noticed?! Her missing arm!

"I don't want it. I never wanted it. It's a damn crutch!" She angrily growled.

Jotaro sighed as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Do you really think you can recover with just one arm?"

Yang grit her teeth and felt her semblance twitch. Her eyes were red but her hair had not flared yet. The professor stood, so sure of himself. _What does he know? Why the hell is he even here?_

"It makes me feel like a worthless cripple. I can recover without it."

Jotaro sighed and rose a thin eyebrow before speaking again. "Gimme a break…. you're a worthless cripple without it, not with it."

That was the breaking point for Yang. Her semblance activated and she threw a fist in pure rage. "You son of a-GUH" Yang never finished her sentence as a fist slammed into her face, her aura just coming up in time to take much of it. Still hurt like a bitch though. Yang was hurlers into some chairs as Professor Kujo slowly walked over her.

"Do you want to get better?" he asked.

Yang didn't answer and just sulked in the ground, feeling too miserable to get up. Professor Kujo just sighed and pulled her up. "Gimme a break…. You're just like your father." When she kept her eyes down, he simply turned around and put his hat and jacket back on. "Though I might have misjudged. You lack the fighting spirit."

Yang mumbled something that made Jotaro stop and turn around. "Speak up" he said plainly. Yang gritted her teeth and her one arm shook lightly.

"I want…. I want to get better. I… I didn't even see your attack. I… I want… I want…..."

She didn't know what she wanted. But when she felt that power, that force, that determination. She knew she was truly and utterly sick of feeling this miserable.

When she looked up again she saw Jotaro smiling before seeing it quickly fade. He strolled right up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Only if you put it on."

Yang felt herself shaking at the thought. She didn't want to feel like she was useless. She didn't want the whole world to be told that she was crippled. That she was beaten.

She found herself calmer whenever the professor squeezed her shoulder. The big man had a strong but gentle grip. _He does have a daughter…._

"So much like Jolyne…" he finally said again. "If you're ready, then I am willing."

Jotaro stood back and walked back inside, pushing open the sliding glass door to do so. Yang snapped her head around. "I'll do it!" she almost screamed. She couldn't live like this anymore. With this unbearable pain. Her partner left her, her sister went off on some world saving mission with their friends. She was all alone with no way out.

Until now.

Here it was.

Her ticket out.

Jotaro looked at her and nodded. "Tomorrow morning sharp. We start."

Yang had to spend an hour that following morning with her father to just prepare to put it on. When she finally did, she was surprised at how light it was. Yang could tell it wasn't the real thing, but each second that passed, it felt more… natural. The strange feeling of her nerves melding with machine had long since passed and left only an odd imbalance in her body that would quickly fade. Yang found it difficult however to use the arm. After weeks of life without one arm, she had gotten used to doing things with only the single arm. She would slowly need to adapt.

On the hour, she nervously stood outside on the back patio, waiting for Professor Kujo. He came exactly on the dot and closed the glass sliding door behind him. There was a look of approval on his face when he saw her with the metallic arm. He placed two water bottles on one of metal small tables nearby. He was wearing his usual hat and jacket while his student was in a simple orange tank top. It would suffice.

"Alright" he spoke almost softly. "Let's get started. You're going to have to get used to fighting with two arms again. Hand to hand before we even think of using your weapon."

Yang felt that spark in her. The one she felt before, during and after every fight. She wanted to become better. She needed to become armed and ready.

Jotaro curiously had his hands in his pockets still. That didn't matter much to Yang. She'd hit him if he was ready or not. "A quick spar. No weapons" he said as he set up his scroll to monitor their auras. Yang curiously noticed how his aura was already empty. Like it wasn't there at all.

Something she hadn't felt in ages welled up inside her as Jotaro stood in front of her. She often taunted her foes at Beacon and this felt no different. "What about your weapon…. JoJo!" She said with the weakest of smirks. She'd taken the first two letters of Jotaro and tossed them together with his surname if Kujo! JoJo! She felt quite clever for that one.

Yang felt a bit guilty when she saw the dark look on his way, like she'd hit a nerve. "Sorry… Professor ... are you alright?"

Jotaro nodded and shook his head. There would be time to talk later. She had enough trauma of her own. No need to add his to her's.

"We'll talk later. Gimme a break…." was all he said before he motioned to begin the match. Yang saw his curious unguarded stance and ran forward to punch. Not trusting her new arm she pulled her arm of flesh back and threw it straight towards the professor's chest. It was blocked however by the floating figure that appeared before her.

Yang's eyes widened as she immediately thought of King Crimson. The time Jaune's Semblance badly hurt her during training. That was the only semblance she knew of that had a physical form like his. _But where is his aura?_

She didn't get time to ponder as the ethereal figure attacked, unleashing a torrent of lightning fast punches that crashed into her aura and flung her to the ground. When Yang crawled back up, her hair was burning and her eyes were red. "Big mistake" she chuckled as her semblance let her launch an attack that would definitely hurt him for sure. Maybe even kill him without aura.

That was until she was punched in the back by Jotaro's fist. _How did he?... I didn't even see him move! _

Jotaro saw as her fist crashed into the ground and shook the foundations of the house. He was impressed by its raw power but disappointed by her sloppiness. "That's enough" he called out. "Why did you use your semblance almost immediately?" Jotaro inquired.

Yang laughed bitterly at what she thought was rhetorical. She motioned her head towards the giant crack on the patio as her answer. "Gimme a break…. Your semblance isn't your weapon. It should be your last resort, your ace up the sleeve. Not your whole battle plan."

"Yea, well I didn't see you use any weapons!" Yang retorted angirly, feeling frustrated at her embarrassing with her poor performance. "This was a waste of time…" she mumbled with a discouraged voice. She slumped down on the raised step and leaned back against the glass sliding door. She shut her eyes and simply took deep breaths before she felt someone sit next to her against the glass as well. She snapped open an eye to see Professor Kujo sitting next to her. "Uh…."

"My semblance" he began slowly. "Is different. Immensely powerful. It was the reason your Headmaster let me into his little club ..."

Yang's eyes widened. "You know about-"

"Salem? The Maidens? Yes. I do" he said curtly. "As I was saying. My semblance was extremely powerful but left me with no aura, no matter what anyone tried. They called it the strongest in the world but I called it Star Platinum. My entire bloodline has been like this. My gramps is like this too, though his Semblance is much weaker than mine."

Yang listened and felt a bit bad at snapping earlier at the man. Before she could say anything the professor pulled his scroll out and pulled up a picture. That had Yang's curiosity firing up again. Jotaro finally settled on the picture of a little girl with black and teen dyed hair in a tie-dyed tank top and a toothy grin. She had two buns in her hair. "My daughter. Jolyne Kujo."

Yang took a closer look at her and saw that she was holding a plush dolphin and wearing her father's hat. She couldn't help but smile. "She's adorable."

Jotaro nodded. Once again, the man of few words kept things short and unfortunately awkward. Yang was once the greatest of extroverts but she knew very well by now how introverted people could get. Like Jotaro Kujo…

"I know how frustrating it can be" he said again, breaking the silence.

Yang looked up at him with nervous eyes, so once filled with confidence and optimism. "Because I've been there. Two years ago. Twelve years ago. I faced some…. things. Things that I still carry."

Yang nervously bit her lip. This must have been the reason he reacted so poorly when she called him JoJo. Clearly there was more to Jotaro Kujo than she thought. "Does it get easier?"

Jotaro sat silently, thinking. Faces flashed in his memory. A man in a green school uniform. A fortune teller. A dog. An old man and a silver haired swordsman. Then a boy with ridiculous hair. His friends.

Two men of pure evil. Blond hair. A World. A Queen that Killed.

"Sometimes" he finally answered. "Sometimes you can't even remember what they looked like. Sometimes they're all you can think about. But it gets better. With time."

Yang felt uneasy with the answer but accepted it all the same. "I'm just so scared. Scared of becoming a burden. The same thing Pyrrha felt but she had Jaune and-"

Jotaro heaved himself up to silence her. "Then make yourself not be a burden." The professor extended an arm and after deep and long thinking, she accepted his hand and pulled herself up with a new fire in her eyes.

"Let's get started, then!"

"Gimme a break…." he said, but she could see his smile.

* * *

Shion was gone. They had arrived to what was a once thriving village to find only ashes. Death. They quickly dashed into the town, weapons drawn and eyes sharpened. Whatever attacked them could attack again. Be it Grimm or something else.

"Ren, Weiss, you scout ahead! We'll check for survivors!" Ruby ordered as she and Jaune rushed forward with Nora to see if anyone had made it.

Their search was fruitless until they heard the voice of Weiss shouting out "Over here!" Which beckoned then all to rush towards her. There they found a rather shaken Weiss and a hard-faced Ren looking over the body of a dying man. Ruby knelt and held the man's hand in one of her own while Weiss and Jaune stood over her. The knight gave Weiss a look that told her to put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. Jaune nodded in approval.

"What happened here?" Ruby asked softly and kindly. The man struggled to speak, gasping for air as he did. He was bleeding profusely and for Jaune it looked like he had one of his lungs punctured. Perhaps a sucking wound.

_Grimm don't use guns…._

**But bandits do….**

Diavolo had pieced it together quite quickly as to whom the responsible party was. Or at least partially was. He'd met her back at Beacon and he'd known her along with the rest of her team. Back when he was in Doppio's body. _Who are you thinking of? _

**Raven Branwen and her tribe of miscreants. **

"Bandits" the man finally croaked out. "Hit us hard…. after they bailed…."

They all knew what came next. With all the chaos that must have been going on, Shion would have been a bright, burning, target of negative energy. "Grimm…" was all Ruby said. The Reaper reached out her hand to feel the coldness of his flesh. There was no heartbeat. "He's dead."

Weiss's grip on Ruby's shoulder tightened. She'd never seen a death this close before, even at the Fall of Beacon. The last life of Shion passed onto the next, leaving a dead, burnt, shell of a town. Nothing more was for them here. "We…." Weiss spoke up lightly. "We should bury him."

Ren walked past with a tense body and an angry face. "We have to go."

Nora looked like she was about to protest but fell silent before she could. She simply followed Ren. Ruby and Jaune were about to agree with Weiss but it seemed nothing would stop Ren. The joint leader of RNJWR rose sadly as Weiss removed her hand to rub her shoulder. Ruby leaned into her and softly said "I'm just tired of losing everything…"

Weiss whispered something to her ear that Jaune catch. He figured it would be best to leave them to themselves. They probably were speaking intimately. He'd let them have that. He felt a pang of sadness, thinking of Pyrrha. _She's probably in Argus now…. I wonder how she's holding up alone…._

Jaune pondered over Pyrrha as Team RNJWR departed Shion with glum spirits and darkened moods.

* * *

Lingering embers was all that was left when Risotto Nero came upon the remains of the camp. To an untrained eye it would seem like a simple case of an animal or Grimm making a bit of a mess in a clearing but to Risotto, he knew exactly what it was.

Hunters. Huntresses. There was a camp here and no matter how hard they may have tried to hide it, he still found it. Risotto knelt before the spot where he figured their campfire was. There were leaves covering a darkened spot on the ground and with the brush of a hand revealed black marks left over that were surely from burnt logs left on the ground. He picked up some remnants of long burned ash and rubbed it between his fingers. "We're close" he said to Neo, who was standing nearby with an almost bored look on her face.

His eyes shot up subtly towards the canopy. That familiar black crow was still watching. He'd noticed a few days ago that the bird had been seemingly trailing them. Neo looked at Risotto curiously, catching on to the fact he had seen something. Nero nudged his head upwards towards the crow and that filled Neo in. Pretending they hadn't seen anything, Risotto began walking off when he stopped and twisted his hand. The iron residue on the ground twisted into a set of sharp razor blades that were then flung up towards the crow.

Each razor blade got stuck in a branch of the tree. _Unlucky shot…._ He thought. The crow flew off into the canopy, going behind a tree. Except when it came back around, it wasn't a crow at all.

Qrow Branwen lunged forward with his weapon but was stopped by Neo almost at once, catching his blade with her own. "Qrow" Risotto almost whispered. It had been a long time since he'd faced off the younger Branwen. Hopefully this would be his last. _Curious…. what is his relation to that crow that was following us?_

Qrow lunged upwards with his weapon, Neo matching him blade for blade until he tricked her, twisting his blade into a scythe to slash her aura again and again. Neo's grip faltered too, though he'd never seen that before. An unlucky bit of sweat perhaps?

Risotto stepped forward and activated his Semblance, hoping to rip open one of his arteries. Qrow stopped fighting at once, which have Neo time to recover. His arm was in pain, and all of a sudden, three or so razor sharp knives exploded out of his arm. _How did I not get an artery? _he thought with slightly widened eyes. Qrow barked in anger and rushed towards him. Risotto knew he couldn't win a one on one now that he failed to kill him in one go. He leaned backwards and cloaked himself with iron dust, making him invisible to the eye. Qrow swung his scythe into the ground. Quickly he snapped his head around to block one of Neo's thrusts. He spun his weapon overhead to catch her aura again, his extended reach and skill giving him an advantage over her. His blood-loss however was a concern. Knowing he had to end the fight, he swept for Neo's legs which caused her to jump to avoid them. Using a fist, he smashed into her face and knocked her to the ground.

Quickly he ran towards the tree line and seemingly vanished without a trace. A single crow was seen flying overhead with blood on its wings. Risotto watched it carefully as Neo angrily pouted at him. "You'll get your chance" he said to her, which caused her to grin.

"We'll use this to our advantage. No doubt that crow has something to do with the Qrow. Follow the bird. Find the kids."

Neo smirked at the simplicity of his plan. With a newfound direction in sight, Risotto decloaked himself and with Neo Politan, ran in the direction of the flying, bleeding, black crow.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Hey y'all. Another chapter done. Won't say too much about it, but there will be two major storylines. **

**Risotto and Neo **

**Team RNJWR**

**Jotaro and Yang is a mini-arc so don't expect to see them often.**

**Anyways, I'm going to be doing more short chapters like this and having the big ones for very important plot points.**

**As for my weekly football talk, that was a game my Cowboys should have won. Terrible play calling at the end. Dak and Cooper were elite, pay Dak now! **

**As always I'd love to see your comments and thoughts, so please leave them! **

**Shoutout to the USS Arkos lads **

**See y'all next time. **


	13. Chapter 13: Stardust Man Appears, Part 2

The sound of chirping crickets woke her up. Weiss rubbed her eyes to see the gentle lights from the floating fireflies. As her vision came into focus, she could tell it was late at night. Weiss rose groggily, but carefully. She didn't want to wake Ruby up. Ever since they'd become more ... open about their feelings about one another, they'd taken to sleeping very close to one another. When Pyrrha almost lost her life, both of them knew it was better to commit now than skirt around how they felt.

Still, she hadn't exactly expected that would mean trekking across Anima towards Haven. Weiss was the first to admit that her luxurious upbringing never includes things like this: Dangerous landscapes, constant threat of Grimm, long hours walking with little sleep or food.

Not that she had any regrets about coming, though. She owed it to Ruby. To her team. To JNPR. To Beacon. Her father would have seen her sit comfortably in Atlas while those responsible for evil walked free. She was a Huntress and she would fight against that evil.

Weiss yawned softly as she looked around. Sitting on a nearby log was Jaune, much to her surprise. The boy was sitting away from the group. _Was it his turn to watch? _Weiss considered that the knight may have just taken on the burden for the rest of the night. If he had, she made sure to thank him later.

Striding over to the log, she whispered out a soft "Hey" to catch his attention. His head turned around and his blue eyes lit up. Weiss then sat next to him on the log, letting out a small yawn as she did.

"Hey Weiss" Jaune said back, smiling as he spoke. Weiss knew it was one of friendship, something they learned to have at Beacon once the dense boy got it through his head she didn't like him. _Or boys for that matter. _Weiss remembered the time she asked Jaune for help with Neptune. Back then, she was having a real crisis of identity. She didn't know if she was gay or not, and well, she was trying to find out.

A pang of sadness hit her. Things were a lot simpler then. _We'll find the ones who did this…_

"Nothing really. I just woke up. What are you doing up still?" She inquired. Weiss already knew the answer though.

"Well, I didn't want to wake you guys up for next watch. So…." he motioned his arm in front of himself. "Here I am." Weiss just rolled her eyes and playfully punched Jaune on the shoulder, right below his armor.

The two chuckled lightly before falling back into silence. Weiss sighed. Things were definitely a lot more tense since Shion. They were nearing another village soon, in a day or so, and hopefully they could rest properly there. The awkward silence continued as Jaune kept sentry on their surroundings.

Weiss was about to go back and try to fall back asleep when she thought of something to ask Jaune. Nervously, she looked at him and spoke up. "Um, would you mind if I asked you… a personal question?"

Jaune glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "Uh, yea… sure… what is it?"

Weiss took a deep breath. She wanted to know about Diavolo. Not about the man but what it was like. Knowing that it was almost what happened to Pyrrha, she wanted to know how it felt.

"It's about well… Diavolo…" The name sent shudders down her spine. She'd heard from Blake and Ren about what he was like… when he was in control of Jaune's body. Weiss valued her freedom. Her freedom was paramount and it started with her sense of self. She told her body were to go and what to do. She could scarcely imagine if her very being was taken over and forced to act in a way she had no control over it.

Jaune looked away slightly. "Ah… well uh… what do you want to know?" The boy nervously rubbed his neck which made Weiss think this might have been a bad idea, but she just had to know.

"Well… I wanted to know what it was like….you know…" Weiss waved her hands in a way that encompasses all of Jaune. Actions seemed louder than words as Jaune understood.

"Alright well…" the blond knight began, struggling to find the proper words to describe the esoteric experience of having a second soul inhabit his body, hijack his aura and semblance and making it his.

"What's the closest most intimate moment you've ever had with someone?" he asked her suddenly. Weiss was taken aback and thought of an answer. Before she could say anything Jaune spoke again. "It's like that. But a hundred times more. And it's always like that."

Jaune had a miserable look on his face. Weiss knew she shouldn't have asked for certain now but her curiosity was simply too great. She stayed silent as Jaune burst into a flurry of words. "Everything you say, he can hear. Everything you see, he can see. Every waking moment, you share every thought and memory with someone else. When he talks to you it's like having someone with a direct link to your mind and soul. You can hear every word and you can't hide." Jaune knew Diavolo was listening. Watching. He grit his teeth. "Nothing becomes private. Because he's you and you're him. And when he takes control of my body…. I don't even know what I'm doing. It's like going to sleep and then waking up somewhere else, with no clue what's going on." The boy slumped his shoulders after throwing his hands into the air with frustration. Weiss slowly put her hand on one of his shoulders.

"I just wish…. I just wish I was normal again, you know?"

Weiss made the boy look at her, ready to snap the sadness out of his blue eyes. "All of us are here for you, Jaune. I know we didn't get to a good start, but all of us, me included, are your friends. And we're going to get you through this, ok?"

Jaune looked down before slowly breaking into a smile. "I knew I could rely on you, Snow angel." Weiss looked at him with a slightly open jaw. _Really? When he and Pyrrha-_

She was interrupted when Jaune broke down into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "Oh you should have seen the look on your face."

Weiss hissed at him, though not unkindly. She had to keep herself from giggling too. "Quiet dunce! The others are gonna wake up!" When the two finally finished laughing, Jaune put a hand over Weiss's and smiled.

"I really do mean it though…. thank you…. you and everyone else…. You're all the greatest of friends."

Weiss smiled back. While she'd never really speak much about it to Jaune, she never really had many true friends at all before Beacon. To count the blond, dorky, knight as a true friend was more than she ever imagined. Him and his team. She never thought when she was younger she'd ever be cracking jokes with someone like Nora, or staying up to talk to someone like Ren. Even Team RWBY before it broke up….

And she sure as hell never thought she'd fall in love with someone like Ruby. "You too Jaune…. now… you get your butt to that sleeping bag and let me take the rest of your watch. Or I'm going to use every glyph I have on you!" It was a joke, but Jaune didn't quite know if she was serious or not. He lifted up his hands and figured it was better to agree than contest it.

Weiss saw however, Jaune put a hand to his head as if he was in pain. "Jaune?" Weiss asked, concern in her voice. When the boy looked back up, his eyes were green. _W-what?_

"Nothing… I'm fine…" Jaune said, but his voice was off kilter. Deeper perhaps? Before she could say anything, he was gone. Not that he had walked up and left, no, he had vanished. Weiss wasn't very experienced with Jaune's Semblance, King Crimson, and it's time skipping abilities. She hadn't felt it truly first hand until now. It truly and utterly terrified her. One moment she was speaking to Jaune and the next moment she wasn't. Her hand, which had risen to be placed on his shoulder, was now at her side. She didn't recall for an instant that she had lowered it. Weiss gulped, unaware of where Jaune had skipped.

Her blue eyes wandered around the forest to see if she could spot him. _No. Not Jaune. Him. Diavolo…_

She took deep breaths as she kept her eyes peeled. Diavolo was secondary right now. As far as she knew, Jaune assured them the second soul was on their side for now. _But what do we do when he's not? How can be beat something that powerful ... and not hurt Jaune in the process? _Weiss didn't have a question for that answer.

And that left her afraid. Deathly afraid.

* * *

Yang unleashed a swift one-two-three attack with her fists. Both flesh and metal lashed forward in tandem, at least two hitting their target. It was bright and early in the morning, the two figures having begun practice a short while ago. The front-yard was being lightly touched by the sun, Yang's father and dog nearby. Taiyang was working on something nearby while Zwei was sipping around the yard.

In the center of it all was Yang Xiao-Long and her new ad-hoc professor, Jotaro Kujo. His hands were in his pockets as he watched Yang repeat the same exercise again. They'd been at it for many days now, with Taiyang giving some advice here and there too. Every morning was like this. The same basic technique. "Again" he said as Yang sighed and took a ready stance.

One-two-three. Jotaro dodged all three before responding with Star Platinum. Yang only just blocked the punch of the professor's semblance, feeling the anger in her as her eyes flared red briefly. Jotaro watched calmly as he saw her struggle with controlling her semblance. As usual, her hair burst into flames and allowed her to lunge forward with intense power. Jotaro knew how dangerous it could be if he was hit. So he simply punched her first. Star Platinum rushed forward, Yang having lost all focus on anything that wasn't Jotaro.

"ORA!" It yelled as another fist connected with Yang's face and rocked her aura. "Gimme a break…." Jotaro said with the roll of an eye as Yang tried to collect her breath.

"I don't get why I have to keep doing this stupid exercise!" She finally snapped. Her breath was short, panting as she spoke. Sweat matted her brow. "Every morning is the same! I know how to throw a goddamn punch!"

Jotaro was silent as Yang burned with anger. "Until you stop using your semblance, we'll keep doing this every morning."

Yang gave him a confused look. "But-" She had no chance to question the professor when he spoke again.

"Your new arm. It's been enough time for me to ask. How's it feel?"

Yang was flabbergasted at how fast Jotaro would switch conversations. _Now wait a second! _she thought furiously. Lifting up her mechanical arm to point at Jotaro, she spoke. "First of all, it's…. better than I thought. It's light. Lighter than I thought. But it feels like it belongs there. It feels… good…"

Jotaro simply nodded with a grunt of approval. But Yang was finished. "And second of all!" The fiery fighter began. "You better tell me exactly what the hell you meant by not using my semblance!"

"He means that you're over reliant on it" a new voice said from behind her. Taiyang stepped forward from behind Yang and crossed his arms with a smirk. "Using a Semblance like yours, it becomes a crutch. It needs to be your ace up the sleeve. Not your whole hand" explained her father in a calm, collected way. Nothing like the gruff and almost cryptic Jotaro.

"Mm" the professor said in simple agreeance. "Your anger reminds me of when I was seventeen" he simply said. "Just has a different semblance that's all." With a grimace he said again. "I don't want to see someone like me again. Once you stop relying so hard on your semblance, we can stop doing this as your warmup."

Yang was about to argue but neither her father nor Jotaro looked like they were going to have any of it. Sighing, she calmed down and lifted her arms up into a ready position. "Alright. Alright. I'll try again this time."

One-two-three.

One-two-three.

Her results varied. Sometimes she'd get all three hits on him. Other times none at all. He rarely blocked, and simply dodged her attacks. Each time she felt frustrated she kept her temper in check. Slowly but surely she felt herself coming in-tune with herself. With her soul. Each time the anger threatened to boil over she thought of something to anchor her. Zwei. Ruby. Her father. Uncle Qrow. Things like that.

Black hair. Black ears.

She grit her teeth. That made her angry, and she cousin afford to be angry. She let that anger show however when she punched a fourth time. Jotaro didn't expect it and he simply responded with "Star Platinum: The WORLD."

Time stopped.

Sighing, Jotaro didn't attack her. He stepped slowly behind her and counted the seconds down. _2 seconds left…. What the hell is making you so angry Yang?_ he thought. "Time, resume" he said as his time stop reached its last second. The stream of time flowed once more as Yang struck upwards only to find nothing but empty air. Anger raged within her as she snapped around to see Jotaro behind her.

"How the hell do you keep doing that?" she spat out and punched the wood of her patio before slinking down to sit on the wooden steps, head in her hands. Once again she had lost her temper.

Jotaro sighed a "Gimme a break…" before walking over to Yang, waving a hand to her father to keep him at bay. He could handle this. At least he thought he could. _Is this what Jolyne is gonna be like as a teenager? Good grief…_

Yang heard the groaning creak of the wooden stair when Jotaro sat on it. With his massive frame she was surprised the thing didn't just break when he sat on it. The professor didn't say anything and simply looked at the bright, beautiful day on Patch. It was a little past noon by now and the sun was fully out and shining on the island. _A shame I don't visit often_ he thought briefly before returning to Yang. "What do you want?" She finally said, head in her hands.

"Right now? Lunch."

Yang finally lost it. In a good way, that was. Her anger burned away into laughter. Slowly at first, before it cascaded further and further into the brightness that was Yang Xiao-Long before the Fall. "What?" Jotaro questioned. "I was serious. I'm hungry."

Yang had to stop herself from laughing further and settled on just lightly punching Jotaro on the shoulder. Finally she took a breath and spoke again. "I'm sorry" the girl began. "I know you're trying to help me. And I know I need to stop relying on my semblance and getting so mad, but it's so hard."

The girl sighed deeply with self-hatred that Jotaro was all too familiar with. "And I'm just not strong enough. If I was she-"

Yang lowered her voice. Blake was still there, no matter how hard she tried to forget. She ran, Yang would tell herself, but even then she couldn't stop herself from caring. If she was strong enough she'd be here, she'd have her arm and Ruby would have had her full team together. _I wonder how Pyrrha is doing…_ she idly thought.

"I know how that feels" he finally said after a while. Yang raised a curious brow and wondered. "Not being strong enough. Losing people who were….."

"Professor…."

Jotaro grit his teeth and didn't allow her to speak again. She needed to get it through her thick skull that her anger would get people killed. Maybe not her, but someone else definitely.

"Fourteen years ago, five friends and I traveled to Vacuou. I was seventeen. We went there to stop a great evil, a man by the name of DIO. There, I discovered the true power of my semblance."

Yang listened intently. There was a power to command within Jotaro. When he spoke, you listened. "I can stop time, Yang. That's how I can avoid your attacks seemingly without you noticing. I can stop time for five seconds." Yang gasped. It reminded her of Jaune's Semblance, though it was slightly different. The experience she felt during that sparring match was terrifying, but it was not the same as this.

"He also killed three of my friends."

Yang's face dropped. She put a hand on his massive shoulder. "I'm sorry… I…"

"My stupid anger. My stupid anger got in the way. I nearly got killed because I couldn't keep my cool. Three people were already dead because of it."

"I-"

Jotaro never let her finish. "Your Semblance won't get you killed, I don't think. It'll just leave everyone else dead." His words were curt, final. He rose and silently entered the house. Yang's father was watching, one hand holding a yard rake. Zwei came up to Yang and she instinctively pat behind his ears before rising herself and entering the house.

Inside, she looked for Jotaro until she found him in the backyard, a photo in his hand. The man was looking at it intently. At first glance she could see five men and a dog in it. She didn't recognize any of them except for the man that was clearly Jotaro, simply much younger. The professor seemed to sense her arrival and placed the picture snugly away inside his coat pocket. "Jotaro?" she asked lightly. He didn't respond.

"JoJo?"

Jotaro looked back at her and to her surprise, he smiled. "Gimme a break…" he said simply. "I suppose I lost myself to my memories there…."

His face still looked full of old pain, but there was nothing Yang could do for that. Professor Kujo placed one of his large hands on her shoulder. "You haven't lost her yet, Yang. Let's get lunch and then get back to it, ok?"

"But-"

"You. Are not weak. You are strong. All you need to do is believe. Control yourself. Get used to that arm. Now let's go. I'm starving and we still need to do the rest of your drills."

_How can he just… after all I…_

Jotaro could not say he expected this. He was taken aback when her crushing arms surrounded him in a tight hug. The Joestar wasn't particularly close like that, but relented and awkwardly hugged her back, patting her lightly. "Thank you…" She simply said, a wetness forming at her eyes. "For believing that in me when I don't even believe in myself… for staying here, training me…. thank you, truly from the bottom of my heart."

Jotaro waited until she pulled herself back. He couldn't help but smile, even with that semi-annoyed look on his face that Yang knew he didn't mean.

"Yare yare…."

* * *

Higabana. A quaint, small little Mistrali town that screamed comfort and coziness. It was large enough to have local huntsmen to protect it but small enough to be a nice little hamlet of tranquility. Team RNJWR arrived late at night after a few more days of travel. Their tired bodies were relieved to find warm beds and fresh food at the local inn, just as the dark clouds above began pouring down upon them with ferocity.

As for their rooms, partners had to share. Ren and Nora had a room to themselves, as did Weiss and Ruby. Jaune… well he had a room to himself. Suffice to say that everyone's spirits were down. Jaune had left early in the night after finishing his dinner to go to his room. He seemed to be having a foul mood, and the reminder that Pyrrha was still crippled burned within him. The rest of their ad-hoc team remained downstairs at their joined dinner table.

The serving lady politely poured them fresh cups of water. The rest of them were still eating despite their blond friends quick departure. "Not a good night, I take it?" The lady said kindly. Ruby sighed as she put down her spoon. The soup she had been eating seemed a lot less enticing now.

"Our friend is just ... a bit down" Weiss intervened, seeing the flash on Ruby's face."His partner was hurt and well…. he was reminded of it."

The serving lady finished pouring a glass of water for Nora who gratefully took a sip of it. "You kids look mighty young to be huntsmen ... are you students?"

They all collectively nodded and she accepted it before picking up Jaune's finished plate of food. "Well, feel free to stay as long as you like then."

Ruby nervously looked at the rest of the team. Each of them had a conflicted look on their faces. It wasn't just their friend they were worried about, but their entire journey. They still had very little idea on how to beat Diavolo, nor if they'd even find what they were looking for at Haven. Hope was a commodity that was slowly running out.

"We need to talk about this" Ren finally spoke up. He was greatly worried about his team leader and brother in arms. Weiss nodded in agreement, recalling her conversation with Jaune early in the morning a few days ago. Ruby nervously nodded. Being leader of Team RWBY was one thing. She was sorta getting the hang of it before Beacon fell, but leading Team RNJWR? That was a whole nother ball game.

"About Jaune? I know he misses Pyrrha and-"

Weiss cut her off. She needed to explain it in greater depth. "It's more than that. He's been trying to hide it but I think it's starting to get at him." Weiss gently tapped her fingers on the hard wooden dinner table, nervously. She continued until she felt the small squeeze of Ruby's hand beneath the table. Only then did she feel calm. Her partner's strength being lent to her. "A crisis of identity? I think he's worried about… you know…. Diavolo. That he might lose control and hurt us. That he's going to be just another body for that monster."

Ren and Nora nodded. Weiss had summarized how they felt about all of this. Nora looked crestfallen at the thought of her beloved leader being so torn apart, for their own safety of all things. She rose up her voice to speak. "He doesn't show it but we know" Nora looked at Ren who nodded. "He feels guilty for Mercury dying. We've told him it wasn't him who did it, but he just doesn't accept it. He thinks because it was his body that did it, he shares the blame." Nora sighed and put her hands through her bright orange hair in frustration. "I don't know what to do!"

Ruby looked at all of them. She carefully considered what to do, but deep down she already knew. She was the leader. Jaune was not only her first friend, her best friend, but her co-leader in all of this. "I'll… I'll speak to him. After dinner. I think he wants to be alone right now…"

It would be an hour before dinner was over. Each team member cleaned up after themselves and thanked the hosts for the food and rooming before heading up there themselves. The rain had only gotten worse and exhaustion was gnawing at their bodies. Ren and Nora quickly disappeared to their own room while Weiss and Ruby hugged quickly before the Schnee girl entered their shared room and closed the door. That left only Ruby nervously standing outside of Jaune's room. She considered simply skimping out and retreating to the safe embrace of her partner but her resolve kicked in. She owed it to Jaune to help him.

Ruby lifted a small little hand to knock on the door before she heard Jaune speaking inside. It was yet another thing he tried to hide, speaking out loud to the voice in his head. Weiss had described back at the table what it was like for Jaune, in his own words at least. Ruby couldn't begin to imagine the horror of having something to hostile in her mind, privy to her thoughts at all times. Viewing and listening to everything you do. Unable to ever truly be alone with her thoughts. Even taking over your body. She shuddered.

"Just shut up!" Ruby heard from inside the room. It pained her to hear him argue with that voice within him. That second soul. She leaned in and cautiously put her to the door to try and listen. She knew she shouldn't be, but her curiosity got the best of her.

_That's odd. Why's the door so warm?_ she wondered before gazing upwards to see Jaune's face looking down at her. _Huhwha? Wait, I didn't even… oh… right…_

Ruby always seemed to forgot about Jaune's Semblance. He must have skipped time and as usual, no one would notice. It sent a shiver down her spine as she pulled back. "Eek! Sorry Jaune!"

"Ruby?..." Jaune started before throwing his hands in the air and stepping back inside his room. He didn't have time for this. Nor the patience. Ruby saw this and widened her silver eyes. Jaune always was so patient with her, but now? It hurt her greatly. In an instant her semblance flared and she flew right into the room, reaching his bed before he did, one leg over the other. "Uhhh…." Jaune said with confusion. What did she want?

"We need to talk!" Ruby commanded in that adorable little voice of hers that barely commanded obedience. She puffed out her chest too.

"About what?" The knight said with a shrug as he came to terms with the fact he wouldn't be getting out of this one. Sighing, he sat down next to Ruby.

"Well… umm… we're really worried. About you Jaune."

Jaune buried his head and felt guilt rush through him. He didn't want them to get involved. To worry about him. To try and understand something they never could understand. His crisis, his burden, was his and his alone. Ruby did not stop there. "We've seen how you… feel. About Diavolo. About what happened at Beacon."

Jaune didn't say anything, merely kept his head low in his arms. _Dammit…_ was all he thought. His one job of not burdening them had failed. _Why did I open up to Weiss about this before?... _he cursed himself mentally. "Please Jaune ... we care about you."

He took a deep breath. Might as well lay out his feelings now. There really wasn't an escape from Ruby Rose when she wanted to comfort you. He learned that back at Beacon when he was dealing with Cardin. One 'Nope!' and he'd do whatever she'd say. But that was a different time. A different Jaune. "There's nothing you can do. Nothing any of you can do" he said grimly. He leaned against the back of his bed, sighing.

Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder kindly. Then she finally said that word. That word he thought had no power over him. "Nope." He slumped his shoulders.

"I'm… scared… I'm so scared Ruby." The girl lowered her hand and tightly grasped his hand for comfort. She squeezed to try and calm him down. "I'm scared that I'm just going to be another body… another host for _him._ He's always there. Always… listening. I can feel him, even now. I can't ever just ignore him."

**I am your only source of training! **Diavolo snapped at Jaune. "Shut up!" Jaune growled. Ruby flinched as she saw some of the struggles Jaune was facing. She saw the red glare of his aura, King Crimson angrily hovering behind Jaune. In a flash of anger, the semblance smashed a fist into the bed, causing it to crack. "And I can't even avoid him! I have to train with my Semblance because if I don't, I'm just… dead weight. I'm still average with my sword and well behind you guys. But I'm worried the more I train, the more… control he gets! And then I'll hurt you! Like I…"

He felt wet tears form at his eyes. He took a life. A human life. Even if they were attacking the school. His body was used to kill Mercury Black. "Everyone says it's not my fault… but I feel so damn guilty. I wasn't even conscious, but guess what, I have his memories too. I remember exactly how _he, I, killed him._" Jaune buried his head in his hands and dragged his hand through his hair. A few tears dropped down onto his pants. "I don't want to disappear. But I don't know how long I can hold off…. I'm so damn scared Ruby. And the only person who'd be able to do something for me… is in Argus. I miss her. I miss her a lot… we… we had sex you know. The night before we set off…"

Ruby felt so terrible for her friend, but also awkward and nervous. She had no idea the depth of Jaune's suffering. Nor did she really want to hear that much information about his relationship with Pyrrha. Still, she was there for him, to help him.

"We're not going to let that happen. Look at me Jaune." Jaune didn't do it at first, until Ruby forced him to look at her silver eyes with his deep blues. She'd been told that the sign it was Diavolo was in control was in the eyes. Jaune had deep blue eyes that were like the sky. Diavolo has broken green sclera, shattered like the man he originally was.

_Eyes are the window to the soul…_

"We know you Jaune. No matter what's in your head. You're Jaune Arc! My best friend. My socially awkward best bud! You didn't kill Mercury. _He did. _Not you. You are good." Ruby pokes her finger into his chest, right on his heart for emphasis. "You're not going to disappear. We won't let you. I won't let you! This world needs a Jaune Arc. It needs a hero like you! So you're not going ANYWHERE, got it!"

**You and I are both responsible for Mercury's death. You know that my sweet Jaune...**

Jaune simply looked at her, flabbergasted as she drilled into him her orders. That he would not fade away into the recesses of his own body as a malevolent entity took control of his very being.

"I know who you are. You're Jaune." She pushed her finger in before pulling back and wrapping him in a big hug. Jaune went "Gah!" before slowly hugging his best friend back. "And I know that you'd never hurt us. That even till the very last you'll fight against Diavolo. That he'll never control you truly! Even if he had your body, the Jaune I know would fight him every step of the way!"

**I'm the only one you can rely on. See how she speaks against me. She wants us to fight when we are but allies! You and I are the same, my sweet Jaune. The same side. The same goal! We both want to kill Cinder….**

Jaune fought. He fought the urge to scream at Diavolo. He fought the urge to smash his bed with King Crimson, erase time and leave Ruby none the wiser to where he went. But instead he took a deep breath and thought of his friends.

_RWBY and JNPR. _

He thought of his anchor. _Pyrrha._

He would not disappear. He couldn't. His friends were counting him like he counted on them.

He felt his soul surge with energy, his aura shining briefly. Diavolo was silent, most certainly fuming. A flash of memories entered Jaune's mind as he held Ruby tight.

_Useless useless useless!_

_yo...… ever….the truth. _The words were broken up, not forming any real words until the end. Still they kept coming.

_The one who will go…. power of the arrow…. Giorno! _Jaune heard a woman shout before the memory flash ended.

"Jaune?..." he heard, breaking him out of the trance. Ruby had broken her hug and scooted back slightly, biting her lip slightly in anxiousness. This was not the first time she'd witnessed Jaune blank out. Jaune lamented the fact he could not tell her. Ruby knew roughly that Jaune had at least one dream that informed them of the second arrow, but Jaune could not say anything else for fear of Diavolo finding out. Jaune was starting to piece together his ancestors past.

Both of Diavolo and the mysterious blond man, Giorno. He knew they'd done battle, that was certain, and that this Giorno had a great power with his Semblance. But what? What did the arrow have to do with any of it? Each time Jaune got an answer, two more questions appeared. He needed Diavolo's diary soon.

"Sorry… must have spaced out…."

Ruby nodded nervously, not quite believing him, but accepting it nonetheless. "Well, it's getting pretty late and… I really ran out of inspirational stuff to say to you!" She blurted out quickly and hid her face with her red cloak in shame. Jaune laughed. For the first time in a long while, the blond knight laughed. Ruby pulled her cloak back slightly to look at him before cracking a smile herself and giggling. "You dork!" she shot at him teasingly, before he shot it back.

"That makes us two dorks, still!"

Ruby couldn't argue with that. She said her goodnight before heading to the door. Right before she left, Jaune spoke up again. "Uh… Ruby…. thanks…"

Ruby grinned. Super awesome leader skills save the day again! _Another situation diffused! Oh man Weiss is gonna be so proud. _"Anytime Jaune."

Jaune gave her that adorkable smile of his that won Pyrrha's heart before he decides to mess with her. "King Crimson…" he said softly under his breath.

"And don't forget to-"

-bed tonight."

Ruby found herself talking to a closed wooden door without even realizing it. Well, actually, she hadn't even talked. Well, she had but she didn't! Gah, time erasure was so confusing! "Jauneeeee!" She whines and heard Jaune's laughing again. Ruby couldn't help but crack a grin anyways, before walking off back to her partner's room.

Had either of them paid closer attention, they might have noticed that on the very edge of the bed frame, exactly where Jaune had laid his hands to hold himself up during his memory flash, there was a flower. If Ruby had looked carefully, she perhaps might have seen that not all of Jaune's aura had flashed crimson red. At the very edge of his fingers of the same hand that lay on that bed frame, his aura had flowed golden.

And a flower had came from nothing.

* * *

_To be continued…_

**A/N: No large A/N this week. Sorry this chapter took so long.**

**Please leave a review! Literally anything you want to say! I love all reviews! **


	14. Chapter 14: Metallica, Part 1

_Many years ago…_

The soft dripping sound of water falling from the edges of rainy rooftops was all he heard as he stepped through the alleyway. The dirty backstreets and dump-pick up areas of Vale were soaked wet after the past few days of torrential downpour. The citizens of the city were given a brief respite, though it was not to last. According to his scroll there was to be even more rain later in the week.

_Better for us _he mused before sliding underneath an overhang that protected his body from falling droplets of water. Risotto Nero checked his scroll again. The secure communication device between his team and him. One of the many perks of being part of the organization.

He felt his scroll vibrate just before he had slid it into his coat pocket. It was a quick message from one of his subordinates. _Sorbet? _It was who he expected. Sorbet and his partner Gelato had recently decided to look into the Boss, especially after being told their squad was not getting a pay raise nor a territory. That was something he was going to be bringing up with the Boss's number two man, Roman Torchwick.

When he checked his scroll, he saw that it wasn't Sorbet. It was Melone. _What? What does he want? _Risotto narrowed his red eyes on the words of his associate.

M: Torchwick is here.

M: Says he's brought a message from the Boss. You need to see this.

Risotto quickly shot back a quick text telling him that he'd be there soon, and then ran out back into the alleyway. Their little safehouse was nearby. _Why is Roman delivering a message from the Boss? Surely he'd just contact us if he needed something…._

Arriving at the safehouse, Risotto took precaution and cloaked himself with iron powder, shimmering slowly away until he was invisible. It was one of the reasons he was the greatest assassin on Remnant, and why he was leader of the Hitman Team. Inside the safehouse, he saw his team as well as Roman Torchwick, his annoying little hat and his orange hair clearly visible even from the entrance.

"-and I'm saying, I had nothing to do with it! I don't kill associates!" Risotto heard clearly the high-strung and exuberant voice of the sub-boss. He decloaked himself and made his presence known.

"And who, Torchwick, would you be referring to?" he asked. His red eyes made contact with the young girl in heels that followed Roman like a lost puppy. Neopolitan was her name if he recalled correctly.

"Ah, Nero!" he said with the flamboyant wave of his hand. His weapon, Melodic Cudgel, was propped up like the cane it was in order to hold him up. The man leaned heavily on it.

Risotto ignored him and turned to Melone and the rest of his team. "What was so urgent?" Risotto could tell his team was jumpy and most of all, scared. _What could scare them?_

Melone just pointed to Roman Torchwick. With a sigh, Risotto turned to face the sub-boss. The consigliere, according to their mysterious boss. "Well, the boss sent me to uh, ah, deliver a message for you and your team." Risotto noticed that Roman's attitude had quickly changed. Usually he was eccentric and theatrical but now? He looked… meek. Afraid. Disturbed. The look one has when they've seen something truly terrible. It was shared by Melone. He could see Formaggio and Giaccio standing nearby too. They looked just as perturbed as Roman did.

"Well, what is it? What's the message?"

Roman pulled at his collar nervously before twirling his wrist awkwardly. "Well, it's not exactly a worded message. Just… follow me…"

Risotto nodded and followed the consigliere towards the back of the safehouse, the relaxation room as it was called, to show him this message that had gotten his team so terrified. Roman pushed open the door to reveal a disturbing sight.

There were large and thin pieces of glass, thirty six of them to be exact. Each of them was see through. Held within each piece of glass was a piece of sorbet. Thirty six layers, making up a full person. He'd been sliced up and shipped to the Hitman Squad. A simple letter came with it. It said "Punishment."

Sitting nearby was the rest of his squad. Pesci and Prosciutto as well as Illuso. They looked petrified. Roman coughed from behind Risotto. "If it's any consolation, I had no idea he did this."

Nero grit his teeth and twisted his hand slightly. Roman fell to his knees as he felt a pair of scissors form in his neck. He clawed at it, fearing for his life. "I-I didn't know!" he cries out before Risotto ceased trying to kill him. Gasping for air and feeling his neck, Roman coughed several more times.

Risotto snapped his head around towards Roman, his dark red eyes looking down at him with hatred and anger. "This…" he began to say as Roman pulled himself up weakly. The orange haired man noticed that Formaggio and Giaccio were blocking his path out.

"This means war. You tell that to the boss, Torchwick. Tell him that we're coming for him."

Roman only weakly nodded before he was forcibly tossed out of the safehouse, Neopolitan trailing after him and helping him up. "They're crazy… no one can win against the Boss" he mumbled. Though… if they were successful… well, maybe then he could become the boss?

His Semblance was one of probabilities. It told him the chance of any one action happening. For example, he knew that deliver the message to the Hitman Team was about a 70/20 chance of survival.

Perhaps he could profit off of this little intergang war. The only person he could trust was Neo after all. Speaking of which, Roman looked down at his adopted daughter and smirked. With one hand he ruffled her colored hair which caused her to smile. That was worth it all. That's why he was still in the game. Well, that and he was so damn good at it.

_I'll win against both of them. The boss and Nero…_ he thought, determined to become the top dog at the end.

_And I'll keep doing what I do best, lie, steal, cheat and survive!_

* * *

_Present day..._

Risotto looked up when he heard the crackling of the log fire. His red eyes saw Neo tossing another piece of timber onto the flames. The dry wood was consumed by the inferno and shot a stream of fire up into the air. Little embers descended in its wake onto the forest ground before fizzling out in the darkness. A gust of wind caused it to repeat.

Neo gave him a quizzical look, almost wondering about what he was thinking of. Perhaps when this was all over he'd tell her. She probably didn't remember most of it, being much younger at the time. Most likely she just listened to whatever Roman said during their meteoric rise to power in Passione.

_And what a rise he had…_

For as much as he detested Roman Torchwick, Risotto Nero could not deny his ability to take advantage of any opportunity presented to him. Especially with a Semblance like Probability. Still…. Nero resented his inaction against the Boss until the very end. By then… well by then it was just Roman, Nero and Neo. The Boss has killed all of the Hitman Team by the time he vanished.

Neo looked at Risotto curiously again. She knew her own reasons for vengeance. She wanted Cinder dead. She wanted little Red dead too. Her fingers lightly rubbed the rim of Roman's hat. It was all she had left of him. The man who saved her from her old life. Who raised her like his daughter. Who taught her everything she knew and the man who loved her dearly.

She lifted her hands to sign something to Risotto.

'Why are you out here?' was all she asked. She knew he had his reasons but he'd never told her before. All she knew was that he was after a man named Diavolo who was apparently their old Boss?

Risotto narrowed his eyes. He did not want to have this conversation. She had no right to press into his past. If she had forgotten what the boss had done then that was on her. He turned his head away from her.

Neo tapped her feet until he finally turned around to face her out of sheer annoyance. "Stop that."

'Not until you answer me!' she signed at him before sticking her tongue out. It reminded him that was practically still a child. _Roman's child._ He still remembered the day that bastard practically adopted her. Those were different times.

"Revenge" he spat out to try and shut her up. "Just like you." The man shifted around and faced away from the fire. His red eyes penetrated into the night. It stayed silent like that for a while. Only the sound of nighttime critters and the little crackling that came from the fire. That was until he heard the sound of Neo rising, walking and then sitting down next to him on his log.

'Just like me huh? You lose someone too? Someone close?' she finally signed back. Looks like she wasn't letting up. Nero sighed and looked at her with a sneer.

"My team" he finally said, his face softening as memories of a time long gone returned time. "They were my family. Like your boss. The Boss had them all killed. One by one. You remember the Boss right?"

Neo nodded. How could she not? It was Roman, Nero and her that had taken him down in the end. Well, he has vanished without a trace before they could confront him. Still, he was the man who came before Roman. Roman became the boss of Passione in Vale and then… then Cinder came. She gripped her parasol tightly. 'Someone robbed my family too. A woman of pure evil named Cinder.'

Risotto simply went "Hn…" as he fell into deep thoughtful. Most certainly remembering the deaths of his team. Formaggio, burned to death. Melone and Illuso were poisoned. Pesci and Prosciutto died of a snapped neck and the wheels of a train respectively. And Giaccio? His was the strangest death. How they beat his Semblance he'd never know. At least he'd taken down the Boss's squad as well. He thanked whatever deity there was that he managed to kill Ciocolata and Secco as well as Squalo and Tianzo. All that was left was the Boss.

'What was your team like?' she suddenly asked. Risotto raised his brow in confusion. This was certainly unexpected. No one had ever cared about his team, at least, not on such a personal level like Neo had just asked.

_What were they like? _It had been so long that he had started to forget bits and pieces. That worried him. His memory was always so sharp but ... the little things about them were slowly fading away. He grit his teeth. "We were assassins. Hitman. We did hit jobs for the Boss when he needed them. But who we were?..."

He thought for a little while. How could he explain his family to someone so… different? "We were a unique team. Melone and Giaccio were always so expressive." He thought back to the time where Giaccio was raging about the pronunciation of Menagerie. He was a hawk faunus with a tendency to rage about anything that set him off. That was always funny. Or perhaps the time Pesci tried to learn how to ask a girl out from Prosciutto.

'You're smiling" she signed, breaking Nero out of his mind. 'I've never seen you do that before.'

Risotto Nero's smile soon vanished. He sighed. "I suppose I was just remembering the good times. I do miss them. They were my men. I intend to avenge them." Neo saw him tighten his fists in anger. The burning fire within him raged hotter than even their campfire's flames. It fueled his every step. His every action. Once the Boss was destroyed, his life would be complete. Then he would set off to start it once again. Risotto then felt a small hand on his shoulder. The small hand of a young woman who had lost like he had.

He let it stay. But only for a moment before shrugging it off. Neo understood. She wasn't much for closeness either. But it was reassuring for the both of them. They were partners now. A new team. "We should move out soon" he said softly. "Get some rest. We leave at dawn." They had gained a new lead at Higabana a few days back. A scorpion faunus has inquired to the location of the same targets. They figured it would be easier to follow a man than it would be a bird.

Neo nodded and headed to her sleeping bag. Risotto turned back round and stared into the fire.

In it, he saw his team. His family.

* * *

Team RNJWR had entered through decaying arc that would have been the gateway to Oniyuri had it been completed. All around them were large buildings that would have been homes and shops. Some were barely even built, being only the skeletons made up of scaffolding. Others were complete yet damaged. All of them were abandoned.

It was a ghost town.

The group of teens warily began heading towards the center of the town. Weiss had her cool blues aimed at the battered down "skyline" of the village. The air was cooler than usual, making her wish she had something other than her skirt and jacket. Ren was leading their pack forward.

When they had reached the center of the eerie town, the magenta eyed boy stopped and raised a hand to them. Weiss swiftly put her hand to her weapon. If Ren has sensed something then it must mean trouble.

Jaune's eyes darted around before he felt his Semblance activating. Or at least, one part of it. Epitaph threw the bangs of his blond hair into the air to show him an unavoidable vision of the future.

*A scorpion faunus was rushing towards them, jumping into the air to launch his attack upon them. Ren lifted his weapon as did the rest of them. Then the faunus landed, striking out. Ren lunged forward to block.*

As Epitaph deactivated Jaune knew he had a few seconds to act. Ren was already looking towards the direction in which the scorpion faunus would be coming from. "King Crimson!" Jaune shouted and time was erased. _Alright. Where is he. _Almost immediately, the knight saw the red image of their foes movements well before they occurred. He saw him land and then he saw his forecasted attacks. Rushing forward as he counted the seconds, he began to position himself for an opportune attack. The faunus's attacks would have been incredibly dangerous, but his movements were pointless in a world where time had vanished. _Six seconds! _He thought as his Semblance came to an end.

For everyone else, it would have felt and looked like Tyrian had just appeared before them and for Jaune to have appeared behind him. Luckily for RNJWR, they knew what Jaune's semblance could do. Jaune wasted no time in lunging with Crocea Mors. Tyrian idly blocked his sword point with his tail before rushing forward to stab at Ren. The magenta eyed boy raised Stormflower's knives to keep the scorpion's weapons at bay.

Their enemy was fast. That was for certain. He bounced from Ren to Nora and shoved her aside before lunging towards Ruby and catching some of her aura. Jaune rushed forward to attack but Tyrian leaped up into the air and landed and on Jaune's shield, leaning forward into his face before leaping back. Jaune quickly used Epitaph to predict Weiss was going to fire some ice at Tyrian. In his vision he saw the scorpion jump off his shield and the result was only a frozen shield on his part.

Quickly he erased time and let the ice bolt from Weiss fly behind him. "Sorry!" she called out.

The stranger launched himself backwards into one of the tall towers, crashing through the walls. Once the dust settled, the group say him in full. His legs were spread apart and held him up before he leaped down.

Weiss stepped forward, her rapier poised to cast another glyph. "We're not looking for a fight!" she shouted at him.

Ren followed with a "Who are you?"

The man cackled slightly. There was a presence about him that shook Jaune to the core. Something about his movements. His eyes. It screamed madness to him.

_What do we do? _he asked inside his mind.

**He's a faunus! Do not get stung. I saw a scorpion tail moments ago. **

_Shit? Poison? _

Diavolo gave him an affirmation within their shared mind. Jaune tightened the grip around his sword and shield and let King Crimson flare behind him.

"Who I am does not concern you…" he said in a twisted voice that oozed a type of arrogance that not even Cardin had, all as he pointed at Ren. This wasn't the voice of some high school bully, but that of a brutal killer. His finger lifted up to point at Weiss. "Or you."

Then Nora. "Or you." Then he looked at Jaune. "Well… you do interest me. No, the only person that I am concerned with is you…." His gaze rested on Ruby Rose, who tightened her grip on Crescent Rose.

"What do you want with her?!" Weiss shouted at the man, standing in front of Ruby protectively.

"Why to whisk her away of course!"

Nora and Ren stood side by side and moved in front of Ruby, as did Jaune. "What if she doesn't want to go anywhere?" Nora said with Maginhild at the ready.

"We won't let you take her" Jaune said, though he didn't hear the rest of the man's voice when Epitaph activates. In the next three seconds Jaune saw that their foe would move at incredible speeds and appear behind Jaune. He'd be stung if not for the quick thinking of Ren. _Shit…_ "King Crimson!" he shouted again.

Thankfully time was erased just as Tyrian lunged forward. Stepping back, Jaune could see the exact path the madman would take. His forecasted movements put him right behind where Jaune would have been standing. Even now the blond could see the movements of Ren's bullets heading towards where Tyrian was now. With a smirk, Jaune resumed time. In an instant of confusion, Tyrian was slammed by Ren's bullets. His aura crackled slightly before he refocused himself and lunged towards the black haired boy. Tyrian sliced at him before leaping back.

"You're a faunus!" Ruby shouted as the man's jacket flew off and revealed his sharp scorpions tail. "Is this about the White Fang? Roman Torchwick?"

Weiss's eyes widened as Ruby kept speaking. The Heiress wondered if her presence had put a target on her friends backs.

The faunus laughed in a truly bone chilling way. "Toy soldiers and pawns! I serve our goddess!" The way he said that word made him shiver.

"Cinder…" Ruby said with narrowed eyes, holding up Crescent Rose for battle. Nora and Weiss followed suit.

The scorpion man rolled his eyes and spat out "Only in her dreams" before charging towards them again. His speed was unreal! Strike after strike he dodged and weaved. In one moment he was trading blows with Weiss and in the next he was slashing against Crocea Mors. Jaune focused his aura to try and get King Crimson to manifest and it did for a few seconds. It allowed the knight to get a lucky hit on the faunus with the open palm of his Semblance.

**Do not exhaust yourself! If you had been more efficient in your training-**

"Oh shut up!" Jaune shouted before rushing forwards into the fight once more. Tyrian spun around, kicking Ren and Weiss to the ground and reached for Nora. Ruby saw an opportunity and fired an electric dust round right at Nora, slamming into her. Jaune activated Epitaph to see that while Nora indeed would be supercharged with her Semblance…. but her attack would mean little when Tyrian blocked it and knocked her to the side.

_Shit! I have to skip past it._

"King Crimson!"

Tyrian found himself in a confusion predicament. For a moment he had seen the orange haired girl take a bullet from the little Rose. In the next instant she was right in front of him and had her hammer against his tail. He did not remember for a second her charging towards him, nor her attacking him. All he knew was that he saw she had risen up and the next instant he was blocking her attack. "What?" he exclaimed as Nora smirked and brought her hammer up in the moment of his confusion and slammed him in the chest with it. Electricity shocked him and his aura and threw him back into one of the old buildings and shattered it.

"Jaune!" Nora shouted as she rushed towards him and crushed him with a big hug. "That was genius! I still don't get how it works but at least I know what's going to happen when you say those words!" Jaune felt tired, with his repeated use of his Semblance and more importantly Nora's hugs, he wiped the sweat off his brow as Weiss spoke from behind him.

"I wouldn't celebrate so soon…." Her voice was filled with fear and uncertainty. They turned to see the cause of such a thing. There he was, standing as if nothing had happened. The scorpion man was grinning madly.

"You truly are interesting…" he said as his yellow eyes focused on Jaune, the knight instinctively holding his shield and sword closer.. Once more Tyrian lunged forward, but this time did not waste time with them. In a flash he knocked Ren into Nora and knocked them both down. His twin blades blocked dual slashes from Weiss and Jaune as he used his tail to swipe at the Heiress. She had to roll back to avoid being stung. Using his legs he kicked Jaune to his knees and then ran towards Ruby. The girl fired several rounds at him but he gracefully deflected or avoided them.

With two quick swipes he had cut through her aura. There was glee in his eyes. Weiss rose from her knees to see Ruby on the ground before the faunus and her eyes widened. She would not lose her beloved. Raising her rapier to fire some ice dust at Tyrian, she could see the rest of them weren't much better. Ren was catching his breath while Nora struggled to her feet. Jaune was too far to be of use, lacking a ranged weapon. It was up to her now. She aimed her weapon but saw that it was too late. The faunus brought his tail down on the girl.

"RUBY!" Weiss screamed as the stinger descended. But it never struck. The sound of metal rang out into the sk around them as Qrow Branwen blocked the attack meant for Ruby with his blade.

"Hey there kiddo" the man said with his gravelly voice.

He spun around to face Tyrian who had backed off slightly! "Qrow Branwen! A true huntsman has entered the fray!"

Qrow didn't give him a moment more before Harbinger was upon him. It was now the action of true huntsman and the faunus couldn't afford to play around like he did with the students.

Jaune however, had ran to Weiss by now and helped her onto her feet. "Come on!" he said as he held her up. The white haired girl had to use his shoulders to keep herself propped up.

"Not me. Help Ruby!" Weiss practically begged as Jaune looked towards the red reaper. She was back on her feet and running towards her uncle to try and help him.

"Alright. Let me set you down with the others!"

Weiss was too exhausted to argue, despite wanting to. Jaune carried her over to Ren and Nora who helped her down. Looking closer, he noticed that Weiss had taken a pretty bad hit. Though it hadn't broken her aura, it still did a number on her. Thankfully she seemed to be recovering already and propped herself up by the time wine set her down. "I'm ok. Just help Ruby!"

Jaune nodded but then looked towards the fight between Qrow and Tyrian. He saw something. Something that he wished he didn't.

There, sitting at his belt in a molded cover as to not pierce himself, was the arrow. The first one that had to be taken by Qrow was here once more.

**Jaune! **Diavolo said at once, having seen the arrow as clearly as Jaune did. **Nothing matters now! You must get that arrow! It's the only way we can defeat Cinder! My sweet Jaune! That arrow is our hope!**

_No! I knew this would happen! You only ever cared about yourself. You only ever wanted that second arrow to try and get the Maiden's powers again! I won't do it._

Jaune felt a rumbling within him as Diavolo burst into a rage. **You fool! Don't you see that we are the only ones worthy of the Maidens powers! Listen to me! Don't make me do something I will regret! **

"NO!" Jaune suddenly screamed as he fell to his knees in pain. "I WON'T BE YOUR TOOL!"

"Jaune?" Weiss said as she reached out a hand. Jaune swatted it back as he grabbed his head with his own hands, his weapons still grasping them. "I-"

**Listen to me Jaune! The only one worthy of the arrow is me! **

_I won't…_

He was fading. He couldn't let Diavolo take control. He had to stay Jaune. He had to… stay…

"Jaune! Are you alright?" Ren said as the knight rose from the ground and looked towards the ongoing battle between Qrow and Tyrian.

"**I'm perfect."**

Magenta eyes stared back into shattered greens, all before he disappeared. When the confusion faded they all saw Jaune running towards Qrow and Tyrian. His sword and shield clattered to the ground.

"No…" Nora gasped.

"It's him! It's Diavolo!" Weiss shouted what they were all thinking. Diavolo was here. He was in control of Jaune and he was trying to get the arrow!

* * *

Finding the map that students had lost was a blessing. It told them exactly where they needed to go and that was to the old abandoned house near Haven, one practically built into the small mountain nearby. He'd sent Neo there to wait for them, in case he failed here.

The iron dust on his body hid him as the scorpion clashes with the teens. He had watched close as their one sided battle went on. His eyes were on his two candidates, the blond haired Arc and the silver eyed Rose.

Both seemed to be curious, something that their assailant seemed to agree on. His red eyes watched. Waited. Looking for something that would reveal the Boss to him. He was certainly here.

The scorpion looked like he was about to finish off the scythe wielder when out of seemingly nowhere, Qrow appeared and blocked his attack. _Curious ... but not the first thing that has occurred today. _

He watched closely as the two fought. He wouldn't intervene unless he needed to. He did notice that Qrow had an arrow shaped cover at his belt. It looked to be a broken arrow ... curious…

He kept an eye on the remaining students as Ruby Rose rushed to fight with her uncle. Suddenly he heard the blond boy yell "NO!" and fall to his knees. He wasn't speaking to anyone and when he rose…. he…

Vanished?

_No… he was already running. But how did he…._

Risotto Nero had his culprit. _That… that is the boss! He's running right for the arrow. _

After all these years he'd finally found him. The man who murdered his friends, the new host body he had slithered away into. It was this Jaune Arc. Diavolo, the Boss, was inside Jaune Arc and no doubt he was controlling his every action.

_You're mine, Boss! _

Risotto raced from the shadows, his iron dust flickering as his invisibility began to fade.

Using the remaining dust on his body, he used his semblance to forge it into a thick steel sword that mirrored the boy's own, the one he had dropped by his friends.

Qrow blocked another strike from Tyrian when he noticed two more people running towards them. His eyes looked beyond Tyrian, which caused the faunus to look as well. "Ah Hell…" Qrow said as he saw the blond idiot racing towards him… as well as….

"Magnetica?"

But the man was not racing to attack either Qrow or Tyrian, but Jaune Arc. _What the hell?_

Diavolo saw a face that he had not seen in ages. Risotto Nero…

King Crimson blocked the sword of Risotto Nero, who shaped it into the form of Crocea Mors.

**That bastard is here? This isn't good! I need the arrow now! **Diavolo lunged at Qrow, only for Epitaph to activate and show him Tyrians attack in the next two seconds. When he erased time he could see his forecasted actions. In the typical red glow, he saw Tyrians tail fly towards him. It would have caught him and stung him. Then he saw the next movements. He would have wrapped his tail around him and squeezed it. It would have worked on any other man, but not him.

"**Damn you, Tyrian Callows! I can't take the arrow in erased time!"**

Diavolo moved himself back as his erased time came to an end. The other combatants were all confused as the blond boy looked at them. "**The arrow! It belongs to me!" **Diavolo snapped at Qrow, he put his hand on it defensively.

Before he could answer, Risotto spoke up. "I've waited so long for this. _Boss._ You're going to die here!"

Qrow glared at the newcomer. Magnetica was the name that Ozpin gave the assassin after a string of high profile killings that matched him. He knew how dangerous he was, having fought him a few weeks prior. He wouldn't let him harm that blond idiot, even if he was being controlled by Diavolo. "Not gonna happen. To both of you."

Tyrian could only smile with glee. This was becoming much more exciting than he anticipated it would be. "So, it seems to be a fight for the last man standing!" The faunus licked his lips in anticipation.

Nobody moved. Even Ruby Rose had stopped, standing carefully behind Jaune a good ways back. Suddenly her idea of helping Qrow became a lot harder. Still, she wouldn't let Jau-, no, Diavolo, hurt Qrow. So she began to move closer as the four men eyed one another. She took aim with her sniper. She aimed right towards Diavolo and fired. It didn't work. King Crimson erased the moment the bullet would have hit him.

Then all hell broke loose. Qrow rushed forward with Harbinger to strike at Nero but Tyrian blocked his blow. "Don't forget about me now, Branwen!" Diavolo used this chance to reach for the arrow but the slash of Nero's faux-Crocea Mors kept him back. He lashed out with King Crimson to attack Qrow, but he backstepped and allowed the fist of the Semblance crash into Tyrians face. He activated his scythe mode and let it expand before rushing into the fight.

_This isn't good_ was all Qrow could think as the four men began to battle it out.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N: A big chapter in terms of plot. We're in the endgame now. Risotto vs Diavolo vs Qrow vs Tyrian. It's the fight for the ages boys. Who will win? Who will lose? Will Diavolo get the arrow or will Jaune regain control of his body?**

**You'll find out soon enough!**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will leave a comment in the reviews! Doesn't matter what it is, I just love to see them! **

**Until next time! **


	15. Chapter 15: Metallica, Part 2

Qrow ducked underneath the double slashes of Tyrian's gauntlets. He rose Harbinger to block a fist from King Crimson and then jumped back as Nero's own blade lunged to catch Diavolo. The four men were deep in their fight. Sometimes it would end up as three against one, two on two or a mix of both. Diavolo dived as Tyrian's tail tried to swipe him up.

Rolling forward, his blond hair which was once kept up, now fell back. It was long and patterned in a bizarre way. The boys armor was long stripped off after Risotto Nero tried to turn it into a set of steak knives to rip open Diavolo's chest.

Qrow knee that the body that once belonged to that bumbling knight was the most dangerous. His ability to influence fate was far more concerning than anything else. _Gotta keep moving…_ Qrow swung his scythe to scrape against Risotto Nero's aura. In return, Qrow felt the sting of a series of razor sharp tacks form from his metal flask. The man grit his teeth and with a great deal of sadness took his flask and threw it as hard as he could towards Diavolo, just as the transformation occurred.

Diavolo had seen this already. Epitaph showed him a shower of razor sharp tacks raining upon him. With a word, time was erased and he moved out of the way of the incoming damage. The red forecasted images of the metal flew down to where he was, harmlessly flattering against the ground. He repositioned himself to strike at Tyrian Callows. _**One of Salem's new minions no doubt**__!_

Time resumed and he was right on top of Tyrian. King Crimson took the faunus by surprise and punched him back towards one of the walls and causing it to crack. The scorpions aura shimmered as it took the damage. Quickly foreseeing that Qrow was about to hamstring him, Diavolo once again erased time, leaving Qrow's scythe at the end of its motion in an instant. The long haired blond lunged to reach the arrow again, this time outside of skipping time. Unluckily, Diavolo lost his footing. That gave Qrow the moment he needed to leap over Diavolo and bring his scythe down on him. It crashed into him and put him on the ground. _I ought to thank Jaune for his large aura pool. __**If he's still around anyways**_

Flipping around, he saw that Tyrian was trying to wrap Risotto around with his tail. It might have worked if it wasn't for the fact that Risotto used his Semblance to make razor blades explode out of the beasts tail, almost cutting it off. He screeched in a deranged way that might have shook a lesser man to the bone.

Diavolo skipped past time to reenter the fight. Appearing in front of Nero, he punched at him twice with King Crimson's fists. It hit him directly in the aura, bringing him to his knees. "**I applaud you, Risotto Nero. Your teammates are proud of you. I will ensure you are reunited in the afterlife!"**

Epitaph activated before he could attack again and showed him another vision of the future. A racing bullet bursting out of his back. "King Crimson!" **Your luck is always convenient, Nero!"**

The forecast of the bullet went through his shoulder and he stepped out of its path. With a smirk he ended the period of skipped time and laughed as the bullet slammed into Risotto Nero.

Back towards Qrow, the man was deep in his fight with Tyrian Callows. Harbinger cut across him but Tyrian countered by swinging his mangled tail between his legs and grabbing his foes weapon as Qrow dodged the strike. The weapon flew in the air and landed on the ground with a clatter.

Tyrian grinned moments before Qrow shrugged and launched his fist into his enemies face. Tyrian stumbled backwards. Qrow's fists went back and forth, slamming into Tyrian's chest and face multiple times. When the scorpion was on the ground, Qrow sauntered over and lifted up his scythe again with a smirk. He gave Tyrian no chance to rest as he rushed forward and swung around to catch his back.

A few gunshots rang out as he saw Ruby firing at him. "Ruby!" Qrow shouted in a panic. "Stay back!"

Ruby of course did not listen and rushed forward from her vantage point to join her uncle in fighting Tyrian.

* * *

Weiss was panicking now. Jaune was fully hijacked by Diavolo and Ruby has foolishly tossed herself into the fray. Back on her feet, the Heiress knew she had to do something. Anything. "Ren! Stay here!" she all but ordered. The magenta eyed boy nodded his affirmation and held Nora close. Before Weiss left she heard him speak.

"Please. Bring our leader back."

Weiss gave him a nod before slamming her rapier in the ground and speeding herself forward towards the fight. Ruby had joined in by now, trading blows with Tyrian's gauntlets as Qrow tried to ward her off.

"This is my fight too!" Weiss heard her say. _Ruby you heroic dolt!_ she wanted to scream out but could not. She had to save Ruby from the brawl between the four. Qrow could handle it. Ruby could not!

"It's not that it's-" Qrow shouted before being interrupted by Tyrian's attacks.

Weiss saw Jaun-No, Diavolo- throw two fists that we're blocked by Risotto who seemed to be using a completely metal form of Crocea Mors. She saw his aura flare in what she assumed was his Semblance. With her big blue eyes she witnessed as Qrow's leg burst out slightly, knives flying past Tyrian and into the back of Diavolo who shrugged them off. Weiss felt sickened but undeterred. Ruby gasped at her uncle's plight but was forced by Tyrian to keep fighting. "Do you WISH to be taken?" she heard Tyrian ask.

Weiss had finally reached her foe and used her momentum to leaped in the air above Tyrian and cast a glyph above him, stepping onto it and launching forward with her swordpoint aimed directly at his neck. The weapon took a massive chunk of his aura away. "Weiss?!" Ruby cried out in shock as her partner and girlfriend had leapt to her aid. She wasn't sure if she was angry or flattered.

"Ruby! We need to let Qrow handle this!" she informed her as the older scythe wielder forced Tyrian back towards Diavolo, who lobbed a fist that was dodged and blocked by Qrow. Suddenly, Risotto twisted his hand and Tyrian felt a pair of scissors form in his arm. Without a second thought he cut open a part of his arm and tore them out. He hissed in pain before crying out to Salem and lashing out in a deep ferocity.

Weiss held Ruby down to keep her from running after her uncle. "Let go Weiss!" she screamed. "I have to help Qrow!" Ruby was wriggling in Weiss's grasp but the Heiress was older and stronger.

"Listen to me! We can't help! We just have to stay out of his way while he fights! Please! Listen to me!"

Ruby was frantic now. Desperately trying to shake loose, she was reaching for Crescent Rose, which lay on the ground. "Let go! We have to help him! We have to save Jaun-"

Ruby didn't get the chance to speak when Weiss muffled her voice with a long kiss. It took a moment for them to break, the battle going on becoming an afterthought in their moment of bliss. "We can't help if you get hurt. Or worse." Ruby did not speak. She softly looked towards Jaune, his blond hair long and wild. His eyes green and fractured. The eyes of Diavolo. He was fighting that scorpion faunus.

"Jaune will be fine. He's still in there. Fighting. He'd want us to get back too."

Ruby finally conceded to Weiss. The Heiress held her close and then handed her Crescent Rose. As Ruby turned back to return to Ren and Nora she saw Weiss looking towards the fight. "Weiss?..."

_That dunce… that damn selfless dunce! _Weiss thought to herself as she used her glyphs to launch Ruby back towards Ren and Nora and then fire herself towards Diavolo.

* * *

Risotto, Qrow, Tyrian and Diavolo were all facing one another again. Their fights had broken apart and once again they stared each other down. Their respite only lasted a moment before Diavolo skipped time to attack Risotto, only to be blocked by Tyrian. "You truly are interesting! Your demeanor is utterly unlike before! Our goddess will be quite fascinated! What secrets are inside you?!"

Diavolo looked at Tyrian with utter contempt. This fool worshipped _Salem?!_ "**Don't you dare speak to me like you have a clue what's going on! I'm going to transcend even Salem with that arrow! No mere subordinate can stop me! My semblance is the pinnacle!" **

Diavolo lashed out at Tyrian who sucked and weaved. King Crimson left broken, shattered, stone tiles in the wake of its fists. Tyrian himself seemed to switch eye colors in a fashion similar to himself and lunged forward with what Diavolo could assume was his semblance. _**Tsk**_ he thought as Epitaph showed him such events happening already.

"**King Crimson! Time is erased for everyone but myself!"**

Diavolo watched as Tyrian pointlessly moved through skipped time. "**Such a shame. Your skills would have been an asset to Passione. Even beyond. Yet it all pales before the power of King Crimson. You don't even know how useless your movements are! They have been rendered useless!"**

Diavolo saw as Tyrian's tail lunged forward, the red image showing him that he would have attempted to swing it around and stab it right in his face. "**It's time I dealt with that nuisance" **Diavolo said as he positioned himself right behind Tyrian and raised the arm of King Crimson in an open palm strike. When time resumed there was an agonizing scream. It sounded like the very gates of Hell had opened and it's beasts released. It was not that however.

Tyrian's tail had been cut right off in one motion. Blood spewed from the wound. With a kick to the legs he was drawn back. In a moment his screaming was silenced. The fist of King Crimson came down into the faunus's chest and exploded out of his back. Blood flew into the air and the beast was silenced. The combatants all stopped to see the brutal sight before them. Tyrian's nearly lifeless, bleeding body landed with a wet thud onto the ground as Diavolo looked over all of them. The students were shocked, but the remaining two fighters knew this was a possibility. Risotto Nero narrowed his eyes as he saw Tyrian start to slowly crawl as Diavolo walked over him towards Qrow.

_I'm losing my chance! I have to strike now!_ The assassins thought.

* * *

King Crimson landed a heavy punch on Qrow Branwen's weapon, grinning as it did so. The man felt himself being pushed back under the weight of Diavolo's semblance, gritting his teeth as he did so. "**Who is the one that's worthy? Think about it! I am the only one worth the power of requiem!"**

Through gritted teeth, Qrow spat. "I don't even know what the hell you're talking about!" Qrow focused and channeled his own semblance to try and get its frequency going. And soon enough, it worked. One of the support beams that was holding up the unfinished remains of a building buckled and nearly crushed Diavolo if it wasn't for the fact he had predicted it with Epitaph and simply erased the time in which it would have hit him.

_Damn that semblance! _Qrow thought as he ran back away from Diavolo. Still, at least he knew his own would keep the arrow out of that bastards hands.

Suddenly, he saw the brief flash of white hair go by him. Weiss Schnee was racing towards Diavolo with her glyphs. "Wait! Stop!" he shouted but it was no use. Despite being turned away from Qrow, the bangs of Diavolo's hair flew up and showed him getting tackled by the Schnee girl. With a smirk he activated his Semblance and saw the world break apart, leaving only the forecasted movements of Weiss Schnee.

**So this was the little one you had the infatuation over before the Nikos girl? Pathetic.**

Diavolo moved himself behind Weiss and lifted King Crimson's arm up to come down and eliminate the Schnee girl in one fell swoop. "Time! Resume!" The scratching redness occurred and Weiss found herself standing in front of her target. She quickly turned around to see the descending arm of King Crimson. Ruby was screaming. The sound of weapons clashing against one another. This was it. _I'm sorry, Ruby! _Weiss thought as she braced for the end. She shut her eyes.

It never came.

* * *

"What?" Weiss said as she opened her eyes to see the palm of King Crimson just barely above her shoulders. In a flash she pulled back, taking advantage of the pause. She could she Diavolo straining, his face filled with sweat and his teeth grit. King Crimson was struggling to move and even flickering. "**Wh-What?" **He growled as his hand hovered in the air. Both Qrow and Nero were taken aback by this and settled for watching what was happening to their dangerous foe.

**No… THIS CANNOT BE! HE'S-**

"W-Weiss!" The pained voice of Jaune Arc came through from the mouth of Diavolo. Weiss opened her eyes in amazement. It had worked. To some degree it had worked. "You have to… run!"

Weiss did not run, but stood her ground. She had to save him. "You can fight this Jaune. I know you can! We believe in you! I believe in you!" She practically shouted. "You're stronger than him! Remember who you're fighting for! What we're all fighting for!"

"**You worthless piece of trash" **Diavolo raged. Weiss was unsure if he was speaking to her or to Jaune. "**You're willing to trade away ultimate power…." **His voice seemed to be strained and painful as he fell to his knees. Weiss saw Risotto Nero approach but be stopped by Qrow who broke into fierce combat. Tyrian's body was slumped over, his crawling having ceased. A streak of blood showed the path of his last movements.

"They're … worth more than you could ever know…" Jaune shot back. Weiss watched in horror as two souls battle for control over a single body. Jaune's body seemed to be writhing in agony as he fell from his knees and onto the ground. "Get OUT!" he screamed as Diavolo kept fighting him.

Weiss could see his eyes swiftly changing back and forth. The beautiful blue of Jaune Arc and the shattered green of Diavolo. Weiss kept shouting her support for the knight over the devil. "YOU CAN BEAT HIM!"

"**All of this… for… for a girl? A crippled girl at that? For NIKOS?" **Diavolo screeched as he poured through Jaune's memories and soul, just as the opposite was happening.

Jaune thought and thought and thought and his soul came back to one anchor that kept him from being completely and utterly subsumed and destroyed by Diavolo. Her hair was red and crimson and wholly beautiful. Her eyes were green and perfect in every way and her body was like that of a goddess. She was his goddess. She was his everything. And he promised to see her again.

And an Arc never goes back on their word.

Suddenly, he took a step. Weiss stood back and slowly began to move away. She had no idea who had won but felt the ultimate sight of relief when Jaune lifted his head up to reveal blue eyes behind those long blond bangs of his. "Jaune…" she practically said in a soft whisper before rushing to hug him.

The blond knight however could not stay. "I… I can't stay. I don't know for how long I'll have control. I'm going to try and make it to the house. You remember the plan I came up with Ruby? I think he knows by now" he said with a pained gasp as he began to move away from Weiss. "Get the second arrow! Use it on me if you have to! I'm sorry!" he said with sorrow as he began to rush for the exit of the abandoned town. His mind was shared with Diavolo so he knew exactly where the monsters old home was. There he'd find the second arrow and there he would find the answers he needed in Diavolo's diary.

"Jaune! Wait!" Weiss said but it was too late. Jaune had ran off and she couldn't stop him.

* * *

Risotto Nero was forced back again and again by Qrow. The bastard either had the best luck in the world or Risotto the worst. Every time he used his Semblance against Qrow the man would avoid certain death by having the blades just miss a vital artery or perhaps simple fail to materialize. It was maddening and worst of all it was distracting him from his prize. Diavolo had revealed himself and was now was back to his hosts personality. Now was his chance to kill him for good and Qrow was keeping him tied down.

Things got worse when he saw that blond fool begin to run off. _No! I won't lose you! _His red eyes widened and then turned back to Qrow. If he couldn't kill the lucky bird then he'd just immobilize him! He let go of his faux Crocea Mors and pulled all of his aura into his semblance.

"METALLICA!" he shouted as he pulled his arms back and then thrust them out. Little magnetic beings seemed to float all around them as Qrow rushed to attack. The man felt his leg ache as an untold amount of needles formed underneath his skin and burst from his leg. None of them were in vital areas but there were so many that his left leg simply crumpled and threw him to the ground.

Risotto Nero saw his chance and bolted. His aura was low no doubt but it didn't matter. He could kill that blond knight and finally end the monster that killed his team. Nothing else mattered! Risotto Nero bolted towards the same exit Diavolo took and threw a coat of iron dust over himself to faintly mask himself as he heard the gunshots of the Rose girl racing towards him.

He chased after Diavolo. One of them would die today. And it would not be him!

* * *

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cried out as she flew in a burst of petals over to his wounded uncle. She reformed around him just as Weiss practically flew over with her glyphs. Ren and Nora managed to run to him too.

"We have to go after Jaune!" Nora said with panic in her voice. She had nearly lost a sister at Beacon. She would not lose a brother now. Ren showed his support for her by putting a firm hand on her shoulder and nodding.

"But what about Ruby's uncle?" Weiss said with doubt and uncertainty in her voice. She was panting heavily as the battle had taken its toll on her. Ruby was silent as Nora and Weiss went back and forth.

Qrow finally growled out "Enough!" which shut the group up real fast. The man was holding his leg and winced whenever Ruby took a look at it. "I'll be fine. He wasn't aiming to kill me but trip me up. My aura will fix it soon. Your blond friends the one in trouble. Magnetica is gonna kill him." He hissed as pain lanced through his body.

"We're not leaving you here alone!" Ruby said with forcefulness. Qrow found himself reminded of her mother. Even through the pain he couldn't help but smirk.

"Just like your mother," he said through gritted teeth. "Listen kiddo. I'll be fine. Just in pain. That scorpions dead and there's no Grimm here. I'll let my aura handle it then head towards you guys when I'm better."

"But-" Ruby started to question again before being cut off harshly by Qrow.

"Now!"

She only nodded weakly, hesitant to leave her beloved uncle. "We'll be there. With Jaune in tow. There's a house some ways that way" she said and pointed towards the way Jaune had ran. They all knew where he was going. Diavolo's old home. His secret base.

Nora took a hand and curled it into a fist and put it in her palm with a determined look. "I'm gonna break this guys legs!" Maginhild was rearing to wreak havoc and from the look in Ren's eyes it seemed that he was hungry for save his leader too.

"Alright! Let's go save Jaune!" Ruby said and began running in Jaune's direction. While her order was clear she felt doubt in her heart.

"Ruby" Weiss said as they ran. "Before Jaune left… he said for us to get the second arrow and use it on him if we needed to… like you guys planned…"

Ruby bit her lip as her girlfriend brought up their only probable plan of defeating Diavolo. "If the arrow takes and injects aura ... then wouldn't we be robbing Jaune of an aura for good?..."

The question hung heavy in the air between Weiss and Ruby. They had no idea what it might do to him. It could very well kill him. Aura was the manifestation if the soul, so the two pondered what would happen if it was drained away and stored elsewhere.

Ruby shook her head as she saw the makings of a large building in the distance that was wedges against a cliff side deep within a forest that kept it hidden from watchful eyes. It was extremely close to Mistral, so close in fact that she could faintly hear the bustling of the city and the sound of airships in the sky.

"We'll worry about that then. Right now we have to stop this Magnetica guy from killing Jaune!"

_To be continued…_

* * *

_**A/N: A timely update?! No way! Hope you guys enjoy! The story is nearing its dramatic conclusion. There's probably four chapters and an epilogue left and StB will be DONE! It's crazy to think it's come this far. **_**I couldn't have done it without your support! Once this is done I'll be working on more stories with flexible schedules. There will be a sister story to this about Blake, Sun and Mista called Beauty and the Bullet but that's not going to be for a while. I'm going to step back from the StB universe and work on other things like a Halo x-over and a Young Ironwood, Watts, Schnee, and Glynda fic in the works. Hopefully I'll also continue JauJaunelion and Walk Through the Valley. But those are on hiatus for the foreseeable future. **

**Please leave a review as always! I love reading them no matter what they are. **

**Oh. AND HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS? **


	16. Chapter 16: Metallica, Part 3

"One!" Jotaro dodged another punch from Yang. His hands were in his coat pockets as he ducked under her set of lunges. "Two!" A trio of fast fists flew at him and he managed to avoid all but one, which caught him right in the shoulder. "Three!" he said. If the prior punch had hurt him at all, he didn't show it.

Yang faked him out with her arm of flesh and deliver her true strike right in his chest with the metallic one. Professor Kujo found himself on his knees, panting slightly but holding a small grin on his face at the progress Yang had been making. Rising to see her hands on her hips with a smirk, he decided it was time to move onto another exercise.

Star Platinum appeared beside him as he swiped his finger across the length of his hat. "Gimme a break…."

Yang lifted her hands up into fists once more and kept her indigo eyes fixed on Jotaro's Semblance. "No time stopping, deal?" she asked and received a simple grunt that she took to meaning he agreed. If she was training to not only get stronger but to control her semblance, it was only fair that he not use his own ace in the hole.

She rushed forward and threw her robotic arm first at Star Platinum, who blocked it with his own arm. Yang continued her assault immediately. Three more punche and a jump kick ended much and the same. It was Jotaro's time to attack now. His Semblance raced toward her and opened up an attack rush that she'd only seen twice before. It was absolutely terrifying and made her glad that Professor Kujo was on their side and not Salem's.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" went his Semblance as it repeatedly smashed into Yang, who was barely blocking it with a combination of aura and simply putting her arms up. Panting as his attack ended, her fist was shaking. Every instinct in her told the girl to burst into a fury and use her Semblance blindly. She pushed it back down with a sharp breath and fluttering eyelids. _Focus Yang. Focus!_

At the moment, Star Platinum stood in front of her with fists at the ready. Yang rushed forward, pulling back to punch again. However instead of punching, she used Ember Celica to fire off a hail of bullets towards semblance of Professor Kujo.

It worked. Somewhat. Since he could not stop time, Jotaro had to rely on the speed and precision of his semblance, which had caught every single bullet of her's, barring two. Those two slammed into his semblance and put him on his ass. As he turned to get up, he saw Yang's gauntlets aimed at his face point blank. Only a time stop would get him out of this and they had already set the rules. Jotaro slowly lifted his hands in surrender which caused the fight to end. Yang helped him up and he rose to tower over her once more.

"Gimme a break…" he sighed, trying to hide the satisfaction in his voice and on his face. He was truly glad that Yang had bounced back this quickly. No doubt the trauma remained, her shaking arm was evident of that, but she was recovering. The professor took up her offer of a drink of water. As she headed inside, he felt his scroll vibrate. Checking to see who it was, Jotaro was mildly surprised to see the face and number of one of his former students. Josuke Higashikata was calling him…. but the CCT was down…. which meant.

"Josuke, what the hell are you doing on Patch?" were the first words out of Jotaro's mouth. The tall man eyed Yang coming back out with two cups of water and set his down on the porch all while drinking her own.

"The General sent me to get you! Don't blame me when people start asking where Professor Kujo disappeared off to! Where the hell are you?!"

Jotaro rubbed his temples in frustration. It appeared his visit with the Xiao-Long's would be ending sooner than he wished. "I'll send you the address. Come pick me up there. Goodbye."

"But wait-"

Jotaro hung up without hesitation. Turning back to Yang and taking his drink, he heard her speak. "Who was it?"

"One of my former students was sent to snatch me back to Atlas it seems. Gimme a break…."

Yang knew what this meant. No more day long training sessions. No more bringing her back to strength. No more of Jotaro's brusque wisdom and stubborn attitude that had rubbed off on Yang. "Damn.." was all she said.

Jotaro went "Mmh" as his only response. They didn't have much time left together as Josuke was already on his way. It would be another hour at best. The two decided to spend their remaining time speaking about Yang would do next. The blond haired fighter had come to a decision a fight nights ago. Leading Jotaro to the Xiao-Long shed, she unveiled her bike to him. Bumblebee hadn't been used in a long while but Yang felt she was ready. "Are you sure about this?" Jotaro asked. It was not to dissuade her but to affirm her commitment to it. There could be no half measures. A nod was all he needed. He knew what she was going to do.

"I am."

Jotaro nodded at her decision and put a hand on her shoulder. It was his form of sentiment. He always had difficulty expressing his emotions. Instead he used small actions, simple words or something else entirely to get across how felt. Yang understood this and nodded back.

An hour came and went. Josuke Higashikata stood outside his car waving to Jotaro, his fantastic hair shining in the wind.

Holding only his bag at his side, Jotaro Kujo went to say goodbye to both his host and his student. "I suppose this is goodbye, Yang." The Professor went to shake her hand only to end up in a bone crushing hug. After a moment of awkwardness, he returned the hug in turn.

"Thank you. For everything…." she said softly before letting go.

Jotaro could only playfully roll his eyes and sighed out a "Yare yare…." before waving farewell to Taiyang and heading towards the car.

"What kept you here for so long anyways?" Josuke said as the two drove to reach the Bullhead that would take them back to Atlas. "Putting that girl back together?"

Jotaro shook his head as he idly thumbed the photo of him and his fellow Stardust Crusaders in Vacuo. "No. She did that herself. I just have her a little push."

* * *

_Somewhere near Mistral city…_

Jaune ran hard. His breath was panting and his legs burned furiously. In fact it was a surprise he was even able to move at all. Exhaustion reigned through him but he continued to run with all his might. His armor and weapons were left behind with the rest of RNJWR. Only a pair of blue pants and his shortened Pumpkin Pete's hoodie adorned him, as well as a red sash at his waist that Pyrrha gifted him to take on his travel.

His goal was simple. He needed to reach the house of Diavolo. Read his journal. Figure out a way to deal with the second soul that was affecting him and the people he cared about. All while that damnable demon whispered poison in his mind.

**I should have known from the start that you'd try something this foolish. You had a will unlike your weak Father!**

_I'm not going to be beaten by you! _The Knight snarled back in his mind as he kept running through the foliage. Diavolo kept speaking to him as he did so.

**Without me you're nothing. Just a fool with a sword and shield. Do you truly think Nikos will stay with someone so weak? So worthless? I'm your strength! **

_Shut up! _he yelled as he ran towards what looked like his destination. _There. I made it! _Jaune stopped at a rocky alcove on top of what seemed like a hill . Large stones sat by a nearby gravel and dirt road in which vehicles or perhaps even carts may have once traveled upon. Hovering below the rocky mountainous terrain was a forested house. It was practically built into the mountain. _How the hell do I get down there…_

As quickly as he had begun planning his descent to the old home of Diavolo when Epitaph triggered and showed him an image of the future. A razor sharp knife flying straight towards him! He didn't want to resort to using his Semblance in the off chance it helped Diavolo regain control. He'd just have to take it.

And take it he did. The dagger slammed into his aura with a force that threw him to the ground. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. Jaune felt a wetness dripping from his nose and after checking he could see the sticky red blood on his fingers. Looking up Jaune saw a man sticking his lower body forward, holding his arms up above his head and grasping them together.

"I've finally found you… Diavolo…" he said in his low, deep voice and terrifying. His red eyes bore into the blond knights soul. Jaune had no idea who this foe was and called out to him.

"W-Who are you? I-I'm not looking for a fight!"

Risotto Nero just smirked. This would be easy. Far too easy. The body Diavolo inhabited seemed weak. A shame he would die with his target but that was a price he was willing to pay. "Seriously… I … I don't want to start anything!" Jaune cried again.

"Come out Diavolo! Come out and show me your face!" Risotto screamed. He kept walking closer to Jaune who cowered in fear. Crocea Mors and his shield were elsewhere, so too was his armor. He couldn't use King Crimson, at least not fully.

_If I don't do anything, he'll kill me. _Words from months ago echoed in his soul. The man who he once fought in the Vytal Festival, Bruno Buccellati.

_I have to have resolve! I have to desire winning above all else! _Jaune knew what he had to do. He stood up and bolted towards Risotto. If he wasn't going to his his time skipping abilities then he'd use the fists of King Crimson at least. **Let me fight him! You'll never last! Do you honestly think you can face him? You?!**

Jaune ignored Diavolo and pulled his fist back, summoning one of King Crimson's arms when he stood in place suddenly. Risotto stepped back one bit and flicked his wrist.

Jaune suddenly felt something in his throat. It was like a globule of mucus at first. Then it felt larger and created pressure on his neck, like it was clogged. Then it felt like searing hot pain. The globules of mucus were not mucus at all, but his own blood forming into razor blades inside his own neck. Jaune started gasping but each breath only caused more slicing pain. _It's slicing my throat up from the inside!_ His throat was bulging with razor blades that finally reached his mouth. The poor blond knight vomited out a torrent of razor blades and his own blood that pooled on the ground.

Jaune screamed in agony, causing more blood to spur out of his mouth. His large aura worked overtime to keep him alive as the wounds were forcefully trying to he closed and healed. He felt taxed to the brink, but simply giving up was off the table. He promised Pyrrha he'd make it back and an Arc never goes back on their word.

With his hands and knees on the ground, he tried to push himself up but slipped slightly on a pool of his own blood, staining his clothes and skin. Slowly he rose and looked around for his dangerous foe. He spotted him standing closer now and Jaune lunged forward with an array of punches with his semblance, leaving only one slight prick to Risotto's aura. The man leaned back and seemed to vanish into thin air. _W-what? Where the hell is he? _The boy thought in panic as he looked around, backing up slowly against one of the large rocks nearby.

**If you'd only let me come and save you-**

Jaune did not pay heed to Diavolo and instead focused on Epitaph. The angry face in his forehead triggered and his bangs lifted to reveal a concealed Risotto Nero creeping up on him. _He's hidden himself somehow? Is his his semblance? But then what was his attack on my throat? _

His would-be assassin creeped closer towards him in his vision of the future causing Jaune to start breathing heavily. Where would he attack from? His vision of the future didn't show. _If I can't see where he'll attack from, then I'll attack him. _

Jaune snapped his head towards where his enemy would be in the next three seconds and rushed towards it. He used King Crimson's palm to swipe down and slam into the ground. His breath caught in his throat when he simply cut through the air.

Looking above slightly he saw Risotto Nero laying on a rock, visible and smirking. "I'm surprised you've lasted this long. You're the only one who's ever come that close to me."

Jaune kick stepped back and faced him, triggering another vision from Epitaph as Nero faded from view again. In his vision of the future he saw scissors growing in his neck. _Gods… he's gonna kill me! I need to be ready!_ His precognition saved him as he felt the start of scissors forming in his neck. Painfully, he sliced open a part of his skin to reach the scissors before they fully formed and screaming, he tore them out. They clattered to the ground as he heaved and felt his aura straining to close his new wound alongside the old.

The knight would have no time to rest as another vision showed him a dagger being thrown at him, then many more. He ducked quickly and in a fit of anger he lashed out all around him, punching away oncoming knives and daggers with his semblance. _Have to think fast! _Out of the corner of his eye he could see that some of his blood had seemingly disappeared. _Wait… let me think… _the knight thought as he lay on his hands and knees. _His only form of attack is seemingly sharp objects and he can materialize them from both inside and outside my body…._

Jaune was panting as he thought, wary blue eyes shifting left and right. He didn't know where the next strike would come from. **Please. I'm begging you, Jaune. Let me solve this and I promise you'll never take control again! **

Jaune grunted off Diavolo's pleas and focused on trying to figure out what his enemies Semblance was. _He can't just be creating metal out of thin air… he needs to be using something…. blood… wait…_

His blood. More specifically the iron in his blood. It had to be. He couldn't be just using blood as that wouldn't explain how he could simply vanish. But iron? That's why he could create razors in his throat and launch blades at him from the air. He was using iron. It was like a twisted version of Pyrrha's polarity, drawing all the iron together magnetically into whatever he wanted it to be. _I got! _

Jaune stood up and prepared to face his enemy again. Now that he knew what his foe was capable of he could probably formulate some kind of plan. For now though he'd have to just survive. And find him. The man was still invisible! He must have been using the iron particles in the rocks around him to coat himself in it and reflective particles to camouflage himself.

Jaune tried to focus but his aura was straining. He was exhausted. He just wanted to lie down and take a nap.

He didn't have that option when a pair of knives flew at him again. He dodged one but the other crashed into his leg. In a cry of pain he fell forward onto his back. _Need… to find him!_ Jaune crawled towards the torn out scissor that lay on the ground near him. His idea was a long shot…. but it was his only hope.

He balanced the scissors on his hand. They lightly shook before tilting behind him. They tilted in a way that metal would if they were being affected by magnetism. That meant…

_Found you! _Jaune rose up and threw the scissors as hard as he could towards his target. He found his mark when he saw the open blades slash into what was the leg of now reappearing Risotto Nero. The two blades sliced down hard, tearing his foot off the right. The man groaned in pain as his cloak faded and left him on the ground, open to attack.

"I'm… impressed" the man croaked out, clearly in a great deal of pain. "No ones ever been able to detect me that way. Let alone do me harm."

Jaune stood defensively, panting and eyeing the now footless man. He had to finish him off. _I-I've never killed anyone before_ he thought in despair. Would he have to kill this enemy?

"And I see you've uncovered how Metallica works. But, it won't save you."

Jaune saw the severed foot rise up into the air and could see just exactly how Risotto's semblance worked. He could see the flowing magnetism in the bloody stump of both his foot and leg. They flowed until they reattached, magnetic staples sticking the foot back to the leg. All using the iron found in blood and then disappeared.

Down below he could hear something. His friends. His friends were here. _No! No I needed to get away from them! _The sound of Ruby Rose's familiar voice was barely heard from down below. They were practically at the house and were actually calling his name.

Jaune backed up in fear as his foe vanished. He had to use Epitaph to predict his next attack and what he saw was devastating.

_Oh no! _He thought as he saw needles bursting out of his nose and skin along his face. In the next few seconds that exactly happened. Needles exploded from his nose and face and spilled blood all across the ground.

**That's it. I'm coming there NOW! I will not see my chance to acquire requiem wasted by you! I will seize control! In fact**

_I can't take any more of this. _Jaune in a fit of desperation came to one last plan. Once more lashed out with King Crimson, reaching out towards the ground for several of the blades left on the ground. He figured he'd use his same trick to find his foe before. Using the magnetic pull of his enemies semblance he threw his daggers towards him but to his shock, the blades simply flew off the edge of the rockside and down towards the old house.

Risotto was behind him with a smirk, arms above his head. "Magnetism indeed pulls at the iron. You thought if you could find where the blade was pulled you could find my location. However the magnetism you were being attracted to… was my own severed foot." There was delicious contempt in his voice. Jaune turned around to face his enemy. The blood on his face was turning deathly yellow. Jaune could see the severed foot glowing blue with his enemies semblance.

_He must have thrown it there! _

"W-what's… happening to me" he stammered out as Nero walked closer and closer.

"You saw through my ability and chopped my foot off" Risotto began to say. His victory was assured now. "But you are already complete. There's nothing you can do about it. Large amounts of iron can be found in vegetables like spinach and meat like liver" the man began explaining, much to Jaune's confusion.

"It's an important substance that's found in your bloodstream. What happens when all the iron in your body leaves at once?" he asked rhetorically. "To put it simply, your blood turns a horrible shade of yellow and you die. The iron in your blood captures oxygen. Without that the precious oxygen doesn't reach your fingers or your brain. Despite how hard you're breathing, oxygen isn't entering your body."

_N-no. Can't… end like this..._

He felt himself fading as a familiar feeling welled up inside him. His exhaustion. His pain. All of that was weakening him to the point where Diavolo would take control once more. _Can't… sleep… have to keep him… out...Pyrrha… please_

Diavolo took his chance. With forceful manipulation, he thrust his soul into taking control of Jaune for one final time. He would not make the mistake of letting him in charge ever again. **I need to get the blood back in my body…. I need to…**

He triggered Epitaph to witness the future. What he saw….

Well, it caused him to smirk.

Risotto drew his severed foot back to him and reattached it as before and moved towards the weakly standing Jaune. He just didn't know his true enemy had taken over again. "I know you're in there Diavolo. I can't wait to see your face when you die." Risotto reared back and pushed all his aura into one final killing blow, metallic energy swirling around him as his Semblance roared to life.

"METALLICA!"

A series of gunshots rang out. Risotto stood in his place, arms extended as bullet holes riddled his chest. Behind him, high up in the canopy of trees that surrounded their hill, was Lie Ren and Stormflower. His guns were smoking lightly after discharging. Diavolo figured it was a sufficient enough distance for the magenta eyed member of JNPR to not see his eye color. Pretending to be Jaune, Diavolo nodded and walked towards Risotto. Ren nodded back and began to make his way down the canopy.

Blood slid down his chest as his hand swiped some of it to see, as if he simply couldn't believe it. "I...I… was winning.. I would've won..." He said with realization. "But you threw the blades…. Boss…. Before I die… show me your semblance. Your face."

Risotto Nero collapsed as Diavolo stood over him. He began chuckling weakly as he stilled was lacking the iron in his blood. He fell to his knees and leaned over Risotto. "**Risotto Nero. I will not allow this conversation to go any longer. The last thing I want is for those students to find me in control again. You should die with pride as the leader of the Hitman team, since you made it this far. I'm sure your men who are waiting in the afterlife will be proud of you. You are going to die any second now. The students will find you here. Before that happens, give me back the Iron you still from my body. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to die in front of those students? If you do this, I'll finish you off myself."**

Risotto gasped for air weakly, words pouring slowly from his mouth. "I… die…"

"**What are you saying? I can't hear you. Hurry and return the iron!" **

"I said…." Risotto aired out, knowing his death wouldn't be in vain. "I'm not… going to die alone…."

For it was not only Lie Ren that was attracted to the canopy because of their fighting. From the corner of his eye he could see Neo. She must have climbed up the trees as well.

With the last of his strength he gave Neo a look and wrapped his arms around Diavolo and pulled him into a bear hug. Diavolo struggled as Neo jumped down with her weapon bared. The sharp point would pierce their hearts together.

Diavolo scoffed lightly as he saw the blade's afterimage go through him and impale Risotto. That damn fool was doomed from the start. "**King Crimson. I've erased .5 seconds of time. That time is no longer in this world. The moment in which I was stabbed has been erased, leaving only the results of your death." **One the blade left them in erased time, he ended his semblance, leaving a dead Risotto and a confused Neo.

**Damn you Risotto Nero… you died with your pride intact and I still don't have my iron…**

He needed to act quickly. The students would be at his old home by now and they'd acquire the second arrow. He could not allow that. Diavolo eyes both Neo and a frog, two sources he could use to replenish his blood.

He turned to both of them and lunged towards the frog. It was disgusting and tasted miserable, but he managed to force himself through it. When he was finished, he turned to look at Neo and lunged at her. However she seemed to shatter away with her semblance. **Dammit! **The man thought as he stumbled around, falling softly to the ground. **I can't breath… I… **

He needed to act fast and had only one option left.

Diavolo turned to the bloody body of Risotto Nero. **Damn you… **was all he thought.

* * *

"Jaune!" Ruby cried out as she and Weiss approached the front door of the house. They had their weapons at the ready in case of Grimm or that Magnetica guy that Qrow warned them about.

Ren and Nora were high above in the canopies searching, hoping that the high ground would aid their search after a couple of daggers flew down from on high. A sign of Jaune perhaps?

"You don't think… he's de-" Weiss was beginning to say before Ruby cut her off. She walked up to her side and squeezed her hand. That reassured the Schnee girl who swiftly squeezed back.

"He's not. And we will find him. I promise." _At least I hope… _Ruby thought privately. Even if she couldn't truly promise anything, she was still the leader. Of both RWBY and RNJWR. She had to be resolute for them. All of them.

"Guys!" they heard coming from above them. With a quick turn of their heads they could see Ren and Nora descending from the tree tops. "We found him! He's looking pretty bad though!" Nora said with deep and frantic worry.

Ren himself seemed shaken. "I… I had to shoot the person he was fighting." It was clear that he hadn't taken a life until now and was feeling sick because of it. He knew he had to do it but….

He understood how Jaune had been feeling over the past weeks. Huntsmen were supposed to preserve life, not destroy it. Nora seemed to sense this and slid her hand into his. Without thinking he held it tight.

"Where was he?" Weiss asked quickly as they neared the house. Ruby herself moved to open it carefully. Weiss held Myrtenaster at the ready to blast anything that came through the door.

Ren spoke as he took Stormflower back out shakily. "On a hilltop nearby. He should be here soon…." Ruby nodded and pushed the door open and held her weapon ready only to find an empty, run-down room. It wasn't dilapidated but it had seen better years before.

"Alright. Let's find that arrow" Ruby said as her team fanned out into the house. Weiss and Ruby moved slowly through the dark to try and find their goal. The floors creaked as they moved and they found nothing until Weiss spotted the glint of a gold gilded lock. Using her glyphs to pick it up in case of a trap, she gently floated it over and let Ruby take the thing.

"Is that….?"

Ruby nodded as she dusted the cover off to reveal a simple journal. _This must be what Jaune was looking for…_

"Diavolo's journal." Ruby quickly broke open the lock and flipped through the pages that were surprisingly well kept for a book that must have been hundreds of years old. It made sense though that Diavolo would keep taking care of it from host to host.

Weiss used one of her fire dust crystals to form small flame glyph to create a light for Ruby and her to use. When they began to flip through the pages they saw countless scribbled notes that made less and less sense as they moved on. It went on about aura and the souls and transference. There were models and diagrams every which way but few made any sense. It wasn't until the journal got to the Maidens did they begin to read carefully.

Ruby's eyes widened when she turned the page to find a shocking discovery. "Ruby, what is it?" Weiss asked as her partner showed her the text, causing Weiss to read it and gasp.

_I've finally gotten it. The Maiden's powers are tied to aura. To the soul. They transfer from one to the other and are imbued within their aura. If I can transfer the aura of a Maiden into my own forcefully, I can probably trick it into thinking I'm female and allowing me to receive the Maiden's powers! I'm not sure how much of it is required to be effective but I suspect the more aura that is captured and transferred the more likely it will succeed. The Maidens powers choose their next host at the dying thoughts of the prior. I've yet a way to spoof this, so I suppose that the results of using the arrow with the Maidens power will be successful or will result in death if the soul is weak. Because I am not a true host for the Maiden I've discovered that it will manifest itself in a great power. Since I'll be forcing it into my own aura it will… evolve it. _

_I've called this Requiem. I must achieve King Crimson Requiem, no matter what that fool Oz says nor what Salem promises. _

"This… this was his plan with the Maiden?" Weiss finally said, breaking the silence. Ruby nodded. It was even more imperative to keep the Maidens powers out of Diavolo's hands more than ever.

"Weiss! Ruby!" they heard from the other end of the dark house. It was Ren calling to them. "We've found the Arrow!"

That was the first good news they've had in a while. "That's great! Meet us at the exit to the house and then we can go get Jaune!"

Ruby and Weiss rushed to the exit of the house to find Ren and Nora were already there, slightly outside and standing completely still, facing down something.. _Why aren't they-_

Her train of thought was cut off when they exited the home to reveal Jaune standing some good feet before them. He wore no shirt. Blood dripped from his dirty, stained pants and there was some stuck on his freely flowing long blond hair. His eyes shot up and they were not blue but broken green sclera. Jaune was not present.

A single hand rose to point at Lie Ren who held the second golden arrow. King Crimson shimmered and appeared behind Diavolo.

"**That arrow is mine and mine alone"** was all he said to them in his deep and distorted voice.

Ruby and Weiss stood forward with their weapons drawn. Ren held the arrow tightly and placed it against his belt. Nora readied Maginhild, prepared to beat Diavolo out of Jaune if she had to.

"Not going to happen" Ruby finally said in response as she stood proudly. "And we're going to be bringing our friend BACK!"

_The plan. We have to use the plan. He and I knew it could come to this. _

Diavolo shrugged then vanished as time skipped. Suddenly he was on top of them and the battle began.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was not enjoyable to write nor did it come out as I had planned. Much of the second half has followed this pattern as being too ambitious and too difficult in some regards. This story will be over in the next few chapters so I can finally move onto other fic projects. I hope y'all had a great Christmas and New Years. **

**My Cowboys have hired Mike McCarthy as the new HC. Not sure how I feel about that yet. We'll see if he'll deliver or not. **

**As always, please leave a comment or review! I love to hear your thoughts**


	17. Chapter 17: Fight to Antagonize

Ruby flew towards the tree line with her semblance. The rose petals she emitted fell down to the forest floor as she flew and finally landed on a large branch. Whipping out Crescent Rose into its sniper form she began to open fire on her target. The sniper rounds flew towards the long haired blond before it simply appeared on the other side of him.

_Dammit! _Ruby thought with anger. She continued firing and only ended up with one round hitting her foe. His Semblance was for all intents and purposes invincible. They'd been fighting for only a bit and already they'd been pushed back to their brink. Weiss was trying to use her summons but the hardy fists of King Crimson pummeled her back. Nora caught Weiss as she was thrown back. Ruby grit her teeth as she saw her girlfriend thrown around by that bastard.

Nora rushed forward after setting Weiss down with her hammer at the ready. Using lighting dust from her recent upgrade, Nora felt the energy coursing through her muscles. Her strength was enhanced and her senses heightened. With a furious look on her face she jumped forward with Maginhild to smash down onto the bastard who'd stolen her team leader. "Over here!" she heard coming from her partner Ren. Diavolo looked over towards him, erasing the result of his bullets hitting him. Nora found her hammer slamming into the ground where Diavolo would have been. _The distraction should have worked!_

Compared to Ren, she knew the least about King Crimson and how it worked. All she knew was that it made this fight much much harder. Diavolo returned her attack in kind with an open palm strike from King Crimson. The first one slammed into her shoulder. Her aura took the brunt of it and her hammer quickly rose to meet his second strike. She quickly stepped back, letting King Crimson fall forward.

The semblance and it's user where them hit by two ice glyphs that knocked him back slightly. Nora turned with a grin to see Weiss on her feet again with a very angry look on her face. Her rapier slammed into the ground and with a strain she summoned her Arma Gigas. The summoned creature rose to the occasion as Weiss wipes away some sweat. Diavolo angrily glared at the children down. "**You're all.. nothing more than pieces of trash in my way. Give me that arrow!" **

Ren responded with a hail of gunfire that Diavolo skipped away from. He had to rush towards Ren to regain the second arrow but that miserable silver eyed Rose had her weapon trained on him. He needed to start killing some of them before going after his prize.

His Semblance turned towards Weiss and Nora before erasing the distance between them. His fists slammed into the ground to announce his presence. With shocked looks the two tried to defend themselves but Diavolo was much faster. Rolling forward, he crossed his arms and swung them outwards, two open arm strikes from King Crimson slamming into their bellies and knocking them both to the ground. Nora rolled backwards and jumped up while Weiss struggled to her feet. Taking advantage of her weakness, Diavolo lunged with his Semblance.

Weiss desperately tried to match her enemy blow for blow with Myrtentaster but her rapier was not a match for the speed and strength of King Crimson. Standing behind his Semblance, Diavolo looked down at Weiss with those cracked green eyes.

Weiss however had an ace up her sleeve. Her Arma Gigas has already been summoned and was creeping up behind Diavolo. It rose its blade and swung downwards only to have Diavolo disappear behind it. _Dammit! He's too powerful! _However Weiss could see the effect it was having on his aura. Whoever he was fighting before them must have done a number on Diavolo.

Using his brief pause, Nora landed her hammer right into his back. It flung him towards his old hideout, breaking down his door with a loud thunk. Nora ran to Weiss while Ruby flew down towards them from her perch. Ren as right behind her. Coughing, Weiss spoke up.

"What's the plan Ruby? We can't beat him. Not normally!" Ruby held Weiss's hand tightly. Her mind churned for ideas. She wished Jaune was here to come up with a plan but that wasn't a luxury they had. They had to save him.

"Alright. Ok" she said as Diavolo began to rise from the wreckage of his hideout. Her mind had settled on a plan that might work. "Ren. You and Nora take the arrow. I think I've figured a weakness of his!" Ren and Nora listened closely as they couldn't think of anything that might be a weakness of King Crimson.

"He can predict our movements right? Well I think he can't predict everything. Only one thing at a time. If he predicts one of your attacks…"

Weiss seemed to get it at once, her eyes widening. "Then he won't see a second attack."

Ruby nodded her affirmation and also beamed at Weiss. Her girlfriend was so smart! "That's right. Ren, you and Nora need to attack him with the arrow. Launch it at him." Nora and Ren nodded and ran closer to the trees to formulate their plan as King Crimson leaped out to face them again. With a hand in Weiss's, she smirked. "We'll handle the rest."

* * *

Those miserable students. Why didn't they just keel over and DIE? They were weak. Weaker than him. Why didn't they just give up? They were trash compared to him. Compared to his Semblance.

**I'm the pinnacle. The pinnacle of the world! These pieces of trash and their low tier semblances are just annoyances! **he raged to himself as he saw Ruby grab the white haired girl and burst into a petal of roses. He erased time with King Crimson to see their forecasted movements and pinpoint where they'd stop.

**There they are. Now, where are the other two**. Using Epitaph, Diavolo looked into the future to see the bullets of Lie Ren flying towards him, alongside the hammer of Nora Valkyrie. **They're trying to trick me. **In his vision of the future he could see Ruby Rose firing bullets at him.

With a smirk, he ended skipped time and promptly reentered it. He moved around Lie Ren's bullets, behind Nora Valkiyre's hammer and simply let Ruby Rose's bullet fly through him. It wouldn't matter. Only the results did. Only the results of their actions.

As erased time ended, Diavolo launched his attack. King Crimson punched into Ren's back. His aura flickered and the boy flew through the air and into a tree. **I'm surprised that didn't kill him. **Diavolo saw the boys aura shatter.

He slowly stomped over towards him. With a scream however, he saw Ruby Rose flying towards him with her semblance. Erasing time once more, he let the girl arrive on the other side of him before resuming the flow of time. With a swift movement he flung the red reaper to the ground. "**You are all miserable little pretenders. Don't you see. The arrow chooses who is worthy to wield it!"**

He moved past Ruby, not caring for her partner zooming over to her with her glyphs on the ground. Weiss reached Ruby and pulled her up from the ground. The redhead coughed as she did so, slumping her shoulders. Weiss held her hand tightly as she could and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Come on Ruby" she said to her. "Get up. Get up and fight him." Her voice was pleading. The two girls looked to see the bleeding body of Ren and Nora was nowhere to be found. "We have to save Jaune. We have to save Ren! You're our leader. My leader. You're-"

Weiss was cut off with a kiss on the lips as Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose. Weiss nodded at her as they looked to what Ren would do. The plan hinged on them entirely. "I'll need your help…" Ruby said weakly. "We're going to shoot the arrow right into him, just as we planned… I'll need you to speed it up…."

Weiss nodded with pure determination. They would defeat Diavolo.

"**Now you'll see who the true king of kings is. Who the arrow has chosen! IT IS I, DIAVOLO!"**

Ren looked up at him and smirked. In his hands was the second golden arrow. With all his strength and a couple of dust cartridges, he blasted the arrow up into the air. Surprised at this, Diavolo looked up to see Nora Valkyrie standing tall and proud. **What?!**

As she fell from her perch, hammer ready, Diavolo saw an Epitaph vision showing the arrow being slammed into him by her hammer. **I see what you worthless scum are trying! It won't work!**

"**King Crimson!" **He shouted as time was erased and he saw the path of the arrow. He stepped out of it and resumed time, raising a fist to put an end to Ren's life.

As he turned he did not predict the actions of Ruby and Weiss.

Aiming directly at the arrow, Ruby Rose prepared to fire. Seeing this, Weiss slid one hand around her waist and slightly into her pants, and the other went up to her hand and held it firm.

Ruby took aim and fired. Weiss activated her glyphs and sped up the bullet she fired. In an instant the bullet flew right at the arrow and shattered its stem. The result of the force launched it straight into Diavolo's back.

"Yes!" Nora screamed as the arrow pierced into his aura. With a gasp he fell to one knee and reached to try and pull the arrow out before it was too late. **No! They couldn't have! How could I have not predicted this?! Me? Diavolo! The king of all kings!**

His soul fell into inner turmoil. The flow of aura seemed to seep forward. Into the arrow. If he tore it out now he could lose a little aura but himself from being shoved into that arrow! "**Fate has shown me overcoming all obstacles! My King Crimson is the apex of the world!" **he screamed at the students who gathered around him now, Nora standing over Ren with concern.

He reached around his head to grab the arrow but felt his arm stop. Something had grabbed it and it wasn't any of them. "**WHAT?!" **He shouted as he looked down to see….

* * *

It was Jaune. Not entirely. It wasn't him reclaiming his body. Not even close. "It's" hand was similar to his own semblance. However it was golden rather then crimson and white. An arm that was thinner and far less defined than his own. It exuded a shine akin to the red aura that flared around him, but this time was a white gold.

The hand itself had a purple ladybug brooch on it, a design similar across the body of gold. **Impossible. It can't be…Jaune's true Semblance is the same as **_**his?**_

"I'm going to overcome this" spoke the semblance. It was Jaune's voice, weak, but there. "I'm not going to live in fear and run away from the fate that you've passed on to me. If it's in my way, I'll just climb over it!"

Diavolo felt two things. First, anger. Anger at being outplayed by a couple of children. That he, the ultimate king, was beaten by that miserable blonde noodle! He could excuse Cinder. He could excuse the Nikos girl even. But his other soul? _Jaune?!_

He felt a pull. A tug at his very soul. It was a ripping feeling. This wasn't his body. He was only a soul and the arrows he made were meant to capture Aura's. What was he but that? "**You… you have genuinely angered me…"** he sputtered out.

The second thing he felt was despair. That it was all over. That he, Diavolo, had lost. To these worthless pieces of trash.

The tug on his soul felt tighter. He felt himself vacating the body of the family he had been inhabiting for generations. All of it had become nothing.

**If I'm going down then I'm going to take him with me!** He thought as he raised his other first to bring down into the other soul and drag him into the arrow alongside himsel . But he couldn't reach it in time. The pull of the aura transfer arrow was too much. He felt himself being torn apart and shoved into a smaller vessel, screaming as he did so.

"**You can't do this to me! I'm Diavolo! I'm DIAVOL-"**

His screams were cut off with a burst of energy that shook them all. Then there was silence. The golden arrow hovered for a moment as it fell to the ground with a soft dink. Ren was coughing up blood as Nora ran to his side with fear in her eyes.

"We did it…" Weiss said softly before seeing as Jaune's body stumbled and fell to the ground. "Jaune!" she shouted and ran with Ruby to their fallen friends side. They knew that he might have been….

Ruby didn't even want to think of it. She zipped over to her friend and fellow leader and held his head up. His body felt weak and his aura was… gone?... "No… no… no…" Weiss began saying softly. Ruby felt weak. They'd beaten Diavolo, just as Jaune would have wanted but…. what did it cost?

"I'm sorry, Jaune…" Ruby said sadly as she held his body close. Weiss felt tears falling down her face and drip down to the hard ground ... until….

A breath. A single solitary breath. A glow of aura. The flickering sight of a semblance.

His eyes bursting open to reveal blue irises.

Jaune was alive. He had enough aura to sustain himself and not get pulled in with Diavolo. Weiss's tears of sadness were turned to tears of joy as she pulled her friend into a hug with Ruby. "You're alive" Ruby said again and again as Jaune weakly hugged them back.

"I made a promise to Pyrrha, didn't I?" he said with a small, weak grin. Despite this fortunate turn of events, the sound of Ren's weak coughing broke them out of their joy. Nora's face was one of pain. One that was near breaking. She was holding Ren close but didn't know what to do.

Jaune crawled over to his teammate, being helped along by Ruby and Weiss. He groaned in pain but was otherwise fine. Nora looked to her leader for guidance. "Jaune…" she said with relief. She wouldn't lose two family members today. "I'm glad you're alright but… I don't know what to do… It must be internal

Or something…"

Ruby and Weiss stood up, feeling they ought to let JNPR do this together. They did not leave their side, however. Jaune reached forward weakly to touch Ren. As he did, he shut his eyes and felt wetness pool around the edges. "I'm not going to lose a brother"

He said with anger in his voice. His soul urged him forward, to place his hands on Ren.

His Semblance flared. His true semblance. He knew what its name was. Those visions had shown him. Those memories of the past. The golden haired man, his ancestor. Giorno Giovanna Arc and his Semblance.

Focusing all his will, all his strength into his aura, he reached out. The semblances hand reached out and touched Ren's broken body. "Gold Experience…" he breathed out. Something shone.

"Create life ... and make it anew…"

The flash ended and Nora could see Ren's breathing steady and he was no longer coughing blood. His aura also looked like it was coming back. "Jaune… what did you do…?"

Jaune shook his head. "I'm not sure…. it's like my soul was speaking… my semblance… Gold Experience…. it's some kind of healing I think…" he set his hand to the ground to steady himself and out sprouted flowers from the ground. As Nora held Ren close she looked at it with amazement.

"I think it does more than that…" Nora said as she pulled her leader into a tight hug. "We're ok. We're all ok. And together" she said with pure relief.

JNPR was ok and alive. They'd made it. They'd beaten Diavolo. Trapped him in the golden arrow. When they finally broke the hug they rose with Ren being held up with both arms. Ruby and Weiss smiled as the red haired reaper picked up the golden arrow and looked to Jaune. "What will we do with it?" she asked. Jaune shook his head, not knowing what to do.

"I know what to do" said Weiss as she snatched it from Jaune's hands. "I say we destroy it here and now. Prevent him from ever tormenting anyone ever again." Her voice was ice cold. She had no sympathy for this demon that has tormented her friends and made their life a living hell.

"But…" Ruby began to say. She was unsure about taking Diavolo's life. No matter how evil he was, their job was to preserve life, wasn't it? To stop Salem and Cinder?

Jaune spoke now. "I think… we just…" the boy coughed and grunted in pain as he tried to carry Ren with Nora. His Semblance shimmered and helped him regain stability before fading away. "We just ... throw into a lake somewhere."

Weiss raised an eyebrow at the proposition. She smirked. _Death is too good for that devil._ It was a good compromise. "I agree. Ruby? Nora?"

Ruby considered the options. She didn't want to take life and they couldn't just leave it here either. She sighed and nodded her head in agreement. "If we can't smash it, then we'll sink it!" Nora said with excitement. Diavolo had brought nothing but misery to their team and she was perfectly fine with letting the arrow holding Diavolo's soul sit at the bottom of a lake for all time.

"Then it settled… let's… let's get back to uncle Qrow" Ruby said firmly, taking Weiss's hand and taking a deep breath. Though victory was theirs for now, they still had to make it to Haven and uncle Qrow was still injured. _One step at a time _she told herself as Weiss drew herself near her body. She grasped her hand tightly.

* * *

Back in the unfinished town where Risotto and Tyrian had appeared, Qrow could be seen leaning against some stones that belonged to an incomplete tower. Rushing towards him with her semblance, Ruby knelt over him with a weak smile. "We did it uncle Qrow. We beat him."

Qrow's eyes were just barely open. But in those red eyes was a spark of pride. "Never doubted you for a second kiddo…" Qrow groaned in pain after speaking, holding his chest tightly.

The sounds of aircraft grew louder and louder as they considered what to do next. Luckily they didn't have to choose. The smoke from the fighting had caught the eye of a patrol team from Haven and now they had found them. It was a great relief as Ren and JNPR boarded one while Ruby, Weiss and Qrow were boarded on another, medics within each to take care of the wounded.

Flying high above the sky, Jaune leaned against the metal frame of the vessel and took a long, deep breath as he looked over to Ren and Nora. The girl was holding his hand tight and held herself close to his body, placing a single finger on his nose and said "Boop."

Ren stirred slightly, having floated in and out of consciousness for a while. However, he did have enough strength to lift his hand weakly, touch her nose and say "Boop."

Jaune smiled weakly as he saw his teammates, his family, whole. _Just missing one. We'll see you soon Pyrrha. I made a promise…_

With Diavolo gone…. Jaune felt clear and whole. He'd have to train with his new semblance for sure, but he thought immediately of one thing he could do with it. _If it can create life…. then I could give Pyrrha her legs back…._

Jaune smiled at the thought of surprising her with that once they reunited. He couldn't wait to see his love again. Just a little longer. They still had work to do in Haven.

As they flew over a lake heading towards Mistral, the large city coming into view, Jaune felt the arrow in his hand and took a breath. He focused, took his arm back with all his strength and threw the arrow as far as he could. He watched it fly in the air until it hit the water of the lake, lingered for a moment and sunk deep beneath the waves, sentencing its prisoner forever.

With a deep feeling of relief, Jaune figured the worst of it was over.

_To be continued.._

* * *

**A/N: And so, Diavolo has been defeated. Gold Experience has been awakened. They have arrived in Mistral. I promised Risotto and Diavolo and Cinder would be dealt with by the end. Two down, one to go. I'm going to be skipping pretty much straight into the fight at Haven anyways. Probably two more chapters and an epilogue. We're reaching the end of the line folks. **

**As always, please leave a review and tell me what you think. New stories will be coming soon as well! **


	18. Chapter 18: Requiem

Jaune had been wrong. Things were far from fine. In fact, things may have been at the worst they could be.

Firstly, a rundown of what had happened since they had arrived in Mistral. The headmaster was useless to them, which hampered their search for Cinder and her lackey's. They'd found Ozpin…. except he wasn't Ozpin. He was Oscar. Jaune and his former headmaster had a chilly reunion to say it nicely. Pyrrha was crippled for life because of that bastard.

That wasn't to say he wasn't somewhat useful in training Jaune with his true semblance, his Gold Experience. Like King Crimson it had a short range for fighting but it's main power was its life giving abilities. He spent hours practicing on giving life to inanimate objects and using them in training. He also cut his hair to its old length. It was symbolic as it was practical. Cutting away the hair that belonged to Diavolo while changing into his old clothing and armor.

Then Yang had showed up. Through a portal.

Frankly that wasn't the weirdest thing the teens had seen, having fought and defeated the evil Diavolo. However they were all relieved to see her in one piece. Literally. A new robotic arm provided straight from Ironwood in Atlas. It certainly packed a punch. Nora could attest to that.

Weiss herself was gushing over the fact Yang had been personally trained by the Dr. Kujo. She had been asking her everything. From how he carried himself to what fighting his Semblance was like. She was glowing just hearing about it. For the rest of them, they were just glad to have Yang back up to speed. The only one missing was Blake and Yang… she didn't want to talk about it.

Still, things looked slightly up at the time.

Oh how wrong Jaune was at the time.

* * *

Professor Lionheart had set a trap for them. A simple meeting devolved into an ambush rather quickly when a red portal tore through the fabric of reality to reveal Cinder Fall, Emerald, Hazel and Raven alongside a woman he didn't know. Everyone was tense. Jaune felt a rage inside him against Cinder for what she did to Pyrrha.

But it seemed their foe was more keen on vengeance then he. Her face was a mess. From behind her dark hair one could make out the gnarly sight of a mask covering the remains of that part of her face. Her eyes burned with the power of the Fall Maiden which caused the arrow at Qrow's side glow brightly. The two seemed to wish to reunite.

In her hands formed a fiery sword that burst with excitement and hate filled fury that wished to exact vengeance on the red reaper and blond knight. "I'm going to make you PAY for what you did to me!" Cinder screeched at the two of them. "Then I'll take what belongs to ME!" Her sword turned to the arrow at Qrow's belt. Without a second thought she sped towards Jaune who barely had time to bring his sword out to protect himself. Ruby ran with her scythe in hand to defend her friend while the other combatants were quickly engaged in fighting. Emerald struck at Yang while Vernal lunged towards Weiss.

Ren and Nora began to attack the behemoth that was Hazel meanwhile Raven and Qrow began to duel back and forth. Jaune was put on the backfoot immediately. Training with Gold Experience was one thing but after having Epitaph showing him predictions of the future for so long, it was hard to readjust to simply not knowing all coming attack's.

Ruby's presence divided Cinder's attention however. While Jaune and Diavolo had destroyed much of Cinder's face it was Ruby that devastated her arm. The team leaders looked at one another and nodded, they were in this together.

Ruby attacked first with a blast from Crescent Rose launching her forward with a spin. She sliced with a downwards strike that was blocked. Jaune followed up from below with a slash with his sword. Cinder growler as she exerted her Maiden powers to blast him away with flames. Jaune flung to the ground as Ruby backed away under a flurry of blows. Cinder was not playing with them. There was a deep murderous intent in her eyes. "Come our Diavolo!" She screamed. "Come out where I can kill you!"

"Alright, guess I'll have to use it…" he muttered as he rose from the ground. Jaune was still nervous about using his Semblance. He didn't really know his limits ever since he lost King Crimson. Losing his aura with Gold Experience in the middle of a fight would be a death sentence, but he really had no choice. "Gold Experience! Create life" Jaune shouted as his semblance emerged into being and slammed its fist into the ground to create the sprout of a growing tree.

_This should even the field a bit…. _

Cinder saw with brief shock as a tree burst from the floor, but more importantly, the blond boy no longer had the fearsome King Crimson? Impossible. No one could have two semblances. _Unless… he lost his? How could this be?_

Jaune had only bought him and Ruby mere seconds of time as Cinder reduced the tree to ashes moments later. Cinder was on them fast. Ruby just managed to block one of her now twin swords, while Gold Experience only glanced the blow off with one of its forearms. Cinder's assault was relentless. Jaune and Ruby could only barely keep up. Meanwhile during the battle, Yang was pummeling into Emerald who was put onto the backfoot, unlike Mercury would have been. Weiss herself was struggling against Vernal, trying to summon her Knight but being cut off time and time again. Jaune gazed at his teammates struggling against a supercharged Hazel. Nora was grabbed and thrown to the side as Ren tried to bathe his foe in bullets. Jaune quickly acted to try and help them as Cinder swung at him. He jumped back and let Ruby match Cinder blow for blow as Gold Experience lunged for one of her fiery blades and grabbed it, using its life creating powers to transform it into the first thing he thought of.

The Pumpkin Pete rabbit. Cinder paused for a moment in bewilderment. Gold Experience took the rabbit and threw it at Hazel as hard as it could. The rabbit transformed into the blade again before it hit the ground, where Jaune imbued it with life giving power and caused it to explode outwards as dozens of ants which fell onto Hazel. His friends took the opportunity to attack. Jaune grinned before turning back to fight Cinder with Ruby.

Meanwhile, Qrow and Raven traded blow for blow. "I thought family meant something!"

"Did it ever? Just give me the arrow!"

Qrow grit his teeth and stood firmer, pushing back against Raven. Then Raven gave way and let an overextended Qrow stumble forward and tried to snatch the arrow. She felt the broken shaft fall into her hands just before they slipped out. Just a bit of bad luck, it seemed. Qrow's smirk before he hit the ground was priceless.

The clang of the arrow hitting the academy floors stopped all combatants for a moment. It fell just before the giant statue beneath the spiral staircase leading upwards. Emerald was the first to act almost as soon as the arrow ceased moving. She lunged past Yang, leaving an illusion to distract her foe. Cinder needed this arrow. Needed it more than anything. Even the Relic came second now.

Everyone exploded into a race to get to the arrow. Cinder flared her eyes and began racing for it, but was stopped by dust bullets coming from Ruby and a fist to the jaw from Gold Experience. "Keep the arrow away from them!" Ruby screamed as Yang scrambled to catch Emerald, using her gauntlets to fling herself towards the green haired girl.

Emerald grabbed the arrow with a smirk. It was not to last. Yang's fist slammed right into her quarry's face and flung her into the ground and launched the arrow up. "It's me. I've got it!" Yang shouted as she reached for the powerful golden arrow. Before she could grasp it, Vernal jumped out of nowhere to snatch it, having left Weiss in the dust.

"Sorry bimbo" Vernal snarled as she hit the ground with her feet and began running away from Yang. Weiss rushed past Yang with her glyphs as Cinder was slowed down by Ruby and Jaune.

"Get the arrow Jaune! I can hold her!" Ruby shouted as Jaune nodded and broke into a run.

"Weiss! Stop her! Don't let Cinder get the arrow!" the Heiress heard being shouted by Ren, which was cut off by a fist to the man's chest from Hazel. Weiss raced towards Vernal as she leaped in front of her to cast a summon. Vernal however crossed her weapons around Myrtenaster and pulled the trigger, blasting Weiss with yellow beams of energy causing her aura to shatter. Her scream reverberated throughout the academy as her allies gazed upon her, Vernal bolted from Weiss who fell to her knees.

Cinder smirked and gazed at Ruby who's silver eyes were wide open. Cinder's smirk fell when those same eyes burst with the power of the silver eyed warrior that blinded all and burned her very soul. Coughing while practically on her knees, she only just saw the attack Ruby brought forth. Crescent Rose swung towards her face with intent to kill, but Cinder was faster. At the eleventh hour she ducked her head causing the blade of the weapon to chip her face mask and toppled Ruby to the ground. Ruby grunted as Cinder's eyes burned with fire. She stomped her foot into her chest and dug it in. "Did you actually think you had a chance? Against ME?" Ruby stretched out her arm to try and grasp her scythe but Cinder prevented that with another sharp push with her heel.

"You're just a little girl trying to die a hero!"

Ruby groaned in pain as she rebuked Cinder wholeheartedly. "Even if I die, they'll defeat you! I know they will!"

Cinder chuckled at her idealistic claim. No one could defeat her. She was the Fall Maiden. A goddess amongst mere mortals. That bumbling knight had a powerful semblance true, but it couldn't match toe to toe with her. He had fled! Now she would claim the arrow and the Relic, not to mention her plan to rob Vernal of her powers as well. "You think so?" Cinder said as she looked up to see Weiss on her knees, her aura broken.

She summoned a spear, akin to the one Pyrrha Nikos once used and turned towards Weiss. "No…" Ruby said desperately as she realized what Cinder was going to do. "NO!"

The sound was disgusting. The flaming spear burst from her side, blood pooling out of it. Weiss's hands twitched and came to her side, her face in great pain. Jaune and Ren quickly ran to her side, the knight abandoning his pursuit of Vernal to try and help Weiss.

Ruby activated her semblance and flew towards her girlfriend and partner with fear in her eyes. Jaune slid to Weiss's side. Cinder with a satisfied look on her face, turned to Leo to get him to open the way to the Relic. She walked her way to the giant statue where Lionheart placed his watch. As the towering figure descended, Raven arrived next, awaiting Vernal. The arrow and Relic were hers.

Weiss was gasping for air as Ruby held her hand. "Jaune… you have to use Gold Experience to save her!" Ruby said all too quickly, her words sailing forth from her mouth. Jaune nodded and summoned Gold Experience to heal her wounds and replace the missing blood that had leaked from her wound. Weiss groaned in pain as Ruby comforted her. "You're gonna be fine Weiss…."

Weiss however swung her hand and slapped something into Jaune's hands. He gasped. It… it was the golden arrow! Weiss hadn't used her summons to stop Vernal…. it was to snatch the transfer arrow without her knowing it! _She must have used her glyphs to summon a fake one! _

Jaune gripped the arrow in his hand tightly and nodded to Weiss. "Use it Jaune…. the arrow… it chose you."

"I don't know… I…" Jaune began stuttering. He wasn't even sure of his Semblance. He was not powerful without it and even then he had doubts.

"You have to!"

Jaune silenced his doubts. He had to succeed. He had to use the arrow. Whatever Diavolo had spoken of would be seen, if he survived to tell the tale anyways. "We believe in you Jaune" Ruby said with a nod. He thought of Pyrrha. The first person to ever believe in him. That loved him. That HE loved. He promised he'd come back to her. So he couldn't fail. Not now!

He held the arrow tight and nodded once more.

* * *

Cinder grinned as Raven stepped onto the ever descending statue. She looked irritated and held her hand on her sword tight. "Vernal" she said as the bandit girl ran up to the two. Verbal nodded at her mentor and turned to Cinder.

"Let's go, Cinder," Raven said sharply as she turned away to gaze at the battlefield. The fight had ended swiftly. Just as she predicted. Cinder however did not move.

"The arrow first! I need the arrow!"

Vernal huffed and nodded. "Cool it hotstuff. I have it here. The little princess gave it up without much of a fight." Cinder rolled her eyes and extended her hand. Vernal went to drop it into Cinders palm but widened her eyes when the arrow simply wasn't there. "What?" Vernal gasped as Cinder twitched with fury and the flame of the Maiden's power.

"We have to get the Relic first Cinder!" Raven bellowed which caused Cinder to throw a fireball into the air in anger. Though she considered it all the same, all until Vernal opened her mouth.

"And just retreat? What about our pride Raven! That bitch snatched the arrow right from under me!"

Cinder knew that she could not retreat now. She had to have the arrow! To have the full power of the Fall Maiden. If one of those little girls had used the arrow…

Her burning eyes scanned the remainder of the battle. Emerald and Yang were still fighting, as was Hazel. Then she saw… HIM?

There was Jaune Arc half kneeling with the arrow in his hands, a golden mist moving throughout the academy floors. Cinder's eyes widened as she saw the sheer determination in the boy's eyes. Jaune lifted the arrow up into the air. _There will be no next time…. If I flee for the Relic…. I must GET THE ARROW!_

Cinder practically disappeared. Her speed was unreal. In fact there were embers of flame left in her spot as she raced towards Jaune. Weiss and Ruby watched in awe at the sheer power their foe exhibited. "She's coming right for him!" Ruby exclaimed in shock.

"Despite how pointless it is!" Weiss added as she reached for Myrtenaster painfully. Cinder summoned her flaming sword and held it in her hand ready to attack.

"Gold Experience!" Jaune shouted, summoned his semblance and flared his aura. He stabbed the golden arrow hard and pierced his own aura with it. Cinder gasped as she saw her full power disappear into thin air. Her heart was filled with despair, true despair. Even Raven and Vernal looked shocked. Could a man acquire the Maidens power? Or would something else happen?

But then, Jaune's hand twisted and there was a crunching sound. The sound of flesh being torn apart in an excruciating way. There was a gasp from all but Cinder. Jaune's chest burst outwards, blood being shot out. A massive hole had formed on the left side of his chest, through his armor and all the way through his flesh. His own Semblance, Gold Experience shared the same wound, bleeding profusely. The arrow fell out of his hand, kneeling in pain. It bounced in a matter of seconds.

Cinder began to laugh. Her laughter was a sharp dagger to the chest. It went on and on and on with no end in sight. She practically landed in front of Jaune who was writhing in pain. "I am truly glad I did not go for the Relic. I would have given to despair in my heart if I thought I'd lose to you! The dense one out of his league!"

Ruby's eyes watered and she clenched onto Weiss tightly as she saw her closest, first friend clinging on to life as his blood poured out from the wound in his chest. Cinder began to circle around Jaune and kept gloating. "The arrow has rejected you! The Maiden powers do not recognize you as a suitable vessel!"

Cinder held a smug look of victory. "I know I'm repeating myself, but I'm truly glad I didn't go for the Relic! He appears to be gone now but Diavolo said the arrow chooses who is worthy. That means the Maiden powers within too choose who is worthy!"

Ruby screamed in anguish as she saw Cinder complete her circle around Jaune and raised her sword. Giorno's Semblance was almost trying to protect its master as blood pooled from its chest. "JAUNE! RUN" Ruby screamed as Cinder stabbed forward with her sword through the left side of Gold Experience's face and piercing into Jaune's skull.

"YOU'RE FINISHED! NOW I'LL TAKE WHAT'S MINE!" Cinder bellowed as Jaune collapsed forward. She reached to grab the arrow as it bounced but it seemingly slipped out of her hand and bounced back. There was a mechanical sound coming from behind her.

"Jaune… he's…" Weiss said with amazement as she witnessed the incredible power unfolding before her.

"No! Look! There's something inside his Semblance! Somethings coming out!" Ruby pointed out as they gazed to the shining eye within the chasm that Cinder had torn in its face.

Cinder looked flabbergasted at what she was seeing. That idiot was supposed to have been dead! _What… what is this? His brains should be all over the floor now! _

Jaune and his Semblance were holding themselves up by an arm pushing against the floor. His Semblance…. deep inside the broken face of Gold Experience was a wide purple eye moving slightly. Like something was inside trying to break free. The golden arrow bounced towards Jaune and pierced his aura and his flesh, drawing itself up his arm and into his body, shining as it did so.

"The arrow didn't reject him!" Ruby said with amazement. The girl pointed at the apparent metamorphosis with awe. "In fact, I don't think Cinder can ever get the full Maidens powers' the arrow is forever Jaune's!"

_Shit…_ Cinder thought as she witnessed this powerful transformation. _This isn't good. The power belongs to me! Maybe if I use my arm…_

She didn't have a choice. She had to try or lose her promised power forever. With a roar of fury she unleashed her Grimm arm and a flurry of blows from her blade. However all it seemed to accomplish was shattering the boy's aura?...No… there was a broken shell left in the place of Jaune and his Semblance. There had been a bright light but nothing else. Then she heard the sound of slight debris falling to the ground behind her. She turned.

* * *

Floating above the entrance of Haven Academy was Jaune. His long blond locks were flowing, his aura shimmering bright white. His arm went across his chest from the center as he grabbed his shirt. His once pristine armor had simply vanished, being left behind with the broken shell of his own semblance. He had one gloved hand on his hip while beside him was a pure wonder.

"That's Requiem…. Gold Experience Requiem! Jaune's Semblance has gone beyond the power of the arrow, just like Diavolo wrote!" Ruby said to Weiss as they watched, neither having a clue as to what was about to happen.

It was Gold Experience, but changed. It's eyes were wide and mechanical like, it's color more muted and it's head was like a great crown. Jaune lifted a finger and his Semblance followed suit, a piece of rubble from the now ongoing battle with Hazel floated lightly before being shot towards Cinder. She lifted her hand to block but it burst through it. She screamed in pain but didn't have a second to react as the new Gold Experience Requiem used its life giving powers to transform the rubble into scorpions that stung one of her fingers.

In a flash she cut the poisoned finger, her pinky, off and smashed it along with the scorpion still attached. "GRAAAHARGHHH" she screamed in anguish, holding her wounded arm as she looked up at Jaune.

"You may have wounded my friends," he said without faltering. Caring blue eyes fell onto Weiss and thought of Pyrrha. "But their actions are born of truth! They handed this arrow to me! You just stand there, knowing what you've done, all with that damn smile on your face! Will your 'truth' survive?!" He practically screamed at her, almost like he was asking her to attack him.

_He may have grown more powerful that's true…. but…. it's nothing my Maiden powers can't handle! They are invincible. No mere powerup can stop me! _Cinder thought painfully and through gritted teeth. "Do you actually think you can defeat me? YOU? You're just a failure with a death wish!" Cinder shouted at him, raising her blade towards him.

Weiss was loading dust rounds into Myrtenaster and fired them just as Cinder charged towards Jaune. The battle around them seemed to have resumed as Yang and Emerald flew into the fray again, alongside Oscar, Ren, and Nora against Hazel.

Cinder sped up faster than anyone had ever seen before. Her Maiden powers were being used to the maximum, leaving pure fiery trails behind her. Her blade was aimed true towards his face. This time she would kill him! Jaune himself was moving through the air, his Semblance moving in front of him and preparing to attack.

Cinder was faster however. She leapt into the air just as Weiss's dust rounds passed her by. "Take this! This is your end, Jaune Arc!"

And she lunged true, her sword hitting directly into his skull just as she wanted. _Hah! His little powerup was nothing compared to me! As I said, a failure with a death wish!_

Of course, she realized she hadn't hit him at all. In fact was she even in Haven? Cinder looked closely and saw her sword was only _just_ at Jaune's face. All around her were green and purple energies. She was no longer at Haven. Neither of them were. There were stars all around her and a flow of light and wind. The dust bullets from Myrtenaster flew backwards towards Weiss, reentering the weapon. "What?" Cinder gasped. She tried to stab him again but could not strike him.

Cinder turned her head to see another Cinder in the same position as her, then turning her head to see yet another Cinder, and another Cinder and so on. It was an almost infinite line of Cinder's repeating the same action all behind the other. "Wha-?" She said in panic, causing all the Cinder's to repeat.

"Wha-"

"Wha-"

"Wha-"

"Wha-"

_What is this… what is going on…._ she thought frantically. It all seemed so unreal. It WAS unreal! _What am I seeing? Is this a dream? _

Then she heard a voice. It wasn't that blond buffoon but someone, or something, else. It was close by she could tell. So very close. Finally she it's source.

It was the Semblance itself. Gold Experience Requiem was directly speaking to her. For the first time she felt fear. What _was_ this power?

"This… is Requiem. What you are seeing is indeed the truth." It began slowly. "You are seeing the movements are caused by your actions. But you will never arrive at the truth that's going to happen. None who stand before me will. No matter their abilities or powers. That is the ability of Gold Experience Requiem. This power is unknown even to Jaune Arc who controls me!"

Cinder blinked and saw she was standing in the same spot she was just before she ran to attack Jaune. She could see Weiss loading her weapon just as before. Jaune's Semblance moving to attack her. She even heard herself repeat the exact same words. _What am I saying? I...I… _

Gold Experience Requiem and Jaune behind it were nearly at her, now on the ground. _I haven't at all from the start! _

The first fist formed in front of her and was about to smash into her. Full of shock she couldn't even react. _MY INVINCIBLE MAIDEN POWERS SHOULD BE HEADING TO VICTORY_!

Her wide eyes had seconds to react as the first fist of Gold Experience Requiem crashed into her.

* * *

"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"

Over and over again with the speed of lighting crackling to the earth, Cinder was assaulted. Fist after fist after fist from Jaune's Semblance pummeled into her. Her body was bouncing back and forth as each time a fist retracted it left a dent in her body.

"USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS!" Was the battle cry that Jaune and his Semblance made as they continued to punch Cinder to hell and back. Blood burst from her skin and was whipped every which way.

"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"

Like a machine gun, Cinder was tossed up into the air and her stomach was repeatedly punched as Jaune screamed out "WRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYY"

The punching continued all over her body until a right jab landed and pushed her face back. "You won't be heading anywhere" Jaune's Semblance spoke again as the starry background returned. "In fact, you will never reach the truth"

Cinder managed to break free from the punches to scream a hail of bloodied insults at her for. "WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Half her face was breaking off into gruesome pieces, especially her masked side.

"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA **MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA"**

One final battle cry came forth as Gold Experience Requiem delivered its last and decisive punch. "MUDA" it shouted as Cinder was flown into the air, blood spewing out of her body and trailing down her flesh all while Requiem turned away from her.

* * *

Cinder's body flew towards the open pit that led to the chamber of the Relic. She gave one blood gurgling scream as she fell down to where Raven and Vernal had been waiting.

Panting, Jaune saw Ruby and a healed Weiss run to the edge of the pit to search for the body. Emerald witnessed how easily Cinder was defeated and broke down. Hazel's fight with the others had smashed open the walls of the academy and Leo had run off.

Yang had used the opportunity to break away from Emerald and rush to the pit, jumping down without a second thought. They needed the Relic.

Jaune ran to meet up with Ruby and Weiss to see what happened. "You did it!" Weiss exclaimed with excitement as she grasped Jaune's arm. Despite her healing she still felt weak. "I didn't exactly see what happened but you beat her!" She breathed a sigh of relief seeing that the battle was over, Hazel moving to get Emerald out of harm's way.

Ruby however was still concerned. "The body! I don't see her body anywhere! Are you sure Jaune?"

Jaune nodded silently as Requiem disappeared. "I know. She's done. I can feel it. She will never reach the truth. The truth of her own death."

His words were cryptic and even Jaune didn't fully understand it, but he just knew. He knew it deep within his heart. And if he believed it, the rest decided to trust him. All their righteous hearts burned with the same knowing.

They turned away and waited for Yang. The battle of Haven seemed to have ended. Hazel and Emerald had fled. Much to their surprise, a familiar face had returned to them. Blake Belladonna had come with the faunus militia of Menagerie to defeat the White Fang's attack on Haven Academy. Alongside her was Sun Wukong and Guido Mista.

Finally Yang had returned. Rising out from the depths of Haven Academy, Yang Xiao-Long held the Relic of Knowledge. Her purple gaze fell onto Blake. She was shocked and surprised as the rest of them. Qrow limped towards his niece and was handed the Relic and headed over to Oscar to talk to Oz.

Team RWBY had finally reunited. Blake too was invited into their shared embrace as they once again became whole. It would take time to heal the rift of her fleeing but that would come later. Right now they had each other once again.

Jaune watched on as he thought of his own team. Ren and Nora looked battered but steadfast. He would heal them as soon as possible. "You did it Jaune," Ren said wearily, putting a hand on his team leader's shoulder.

"We did it. Together. As a family" Jaune corrected, pulling his two closest friends together into a massive hug. "I love you guys."

Nora held both boys tightly. "We love you too."

When all was said and done, Qrow revealed to them that Atlas would be their next destination. They needed some rest and then they'd be off to Argus to catch a ride to Atlas. Yang also explained to them all that she didn't find Cinder down below and Raven couldn't get a glance at her either. She must have fallen down the pit and into the depths below the chamber.

As they all began to file out of Haven worn out and tired but sure of their cause, Jaune stopped and turned back to the statue that had raised itself up back again, thinking of Cinder. Beneath his feet however he saw the golden arrow. With curiosity he lifted it up and considered getting rid of it. Behind him he heard Ruby's voice. "Jaune?"

Leave it to his best friend to check on him even after their victory, even after defeating Cinder and Diavolo together. He appreciated that about her. "Just thinking. I think I'm going to keep the arrow. Keep it safe. I'm going to carry forward the will of those that have passed on. The Maidens' powers are within me now, permanently."

Ruby followed his gaze back from the arrow to the statue. "You're sure Cinder is dead?" She asked hesitantly.

Jaune nodded. "Like I said Ruby, she will never find the truth behind her own death." Jaune let out a large breath. He was damn tired. "Hey, how about we go read that pile of comics that you brought along with us? Just like at Beacon!"

Ruby's eyes lit up. "YIPPEE!" she shouted as she grabbed Jaune's hand and ran with him to rejoin the rest of their party.

* * *

Cinder felt pain. More pain than she ever thought was possible. How she hadn't passed out and Drowned was beyond her. _Still… alive… somehow…_ The water around her was red with her blood, a small current wafting trails of blood downstream. Cinder grasped at the rocks and tried to pull herself up. _I'm barely just alive. What was that power?... It ripped my aura to shreds and ignored all of my Maiden powers…. _

Her feet struggled to find something to push up on until she used the last of her strength in her arms to rip herself out of the cold water. She began to laugh slightly. She'd escape, lie low for a while and then return to kill them all. Her weak laughter echoed as she crawled along, thin lines of her life essence trailing behind her.

Piles of rocks blocked her exit. Agonizingly she moved the rocks away from her path towards freedom. A dreary and dark early morning with little sunlight was what she saw. Crawling out with a weak smile on her lips, she crawled onto some of the rocks to rest for a moment. She'd try and ambush a passerby for their clothes and money. In fact she heard the soft pattering of footsteps coming towards her. Except… they were far too fast.

Without time to react she saw a woman run up to her and felt a jarring pain in her abdomen. Looking down she saw a knife wound there, spurting blood out. The woman had a crazed look in her eye, swinging her knife around in the air. "You're not gonna steal my coat. It's mine…. You're not gonna steal it hehehehe…."

_W..wha…_ she thought as she fell to the dirt screaming in pain as she felt herself fading. _L..like this? I can't die like this…. I'm the F-fall Maiden! Not to scum… like… her…._

The crazed woman was laughing and muttering "You can't have it" as she closed in on Cinder. _I'm… fading.. I can't die… here… I'm…_

She screamed as the woman descended her knife down onto her. The world around her tore and then she woke up.

There was a bright light above her. It was oppressively bright and caused her to shift her eyes around to see where she was. Cinder felt that she was on a cold medical table. She was naked. The walls around her were sleek white and steel. She could hear footsteps approaching and felt wary at once. _Was it just a dream? I swore…. it felt so real. I felt all the pain of it. _Cinder tried to move but realized she couldn't. Her lips were moving through….

The footsteps grew closer and revealed a doctor wearing surgical clothing. She was a woman who walked right past Cinder without giving her a second thought and began recording her work.

_Hey! Woman! What's going on?! Why aren't you listening? _

"This is doctor Monica Utello, handling file number 68. We have an adult female between the ages of 25 and 30" she spoke into her recorder. "Her identity is unknown. From the state of her skin she must have died 48 to 54 hours ago." The doctor slipped on her surgical mask and turned towards Cinder. "I will now perform an autopsy to determine her cause of death."

_W-what, what are you talking about?! What am I doing here?_ Cinder screamed. But she had no voice. To the doctor she was still as a corpse. In fact she was a corpse. "Though her body was found by a cave filled with water, she barely had any in her so she couldn't have drowned" the doctor continued, adjusting the light above her slightly causing Cinder to wince.

The doctor pulled back blue cloth to reveal her tools of the trade. Sharp surgical knives, large scissors, blades and the sort. A hammer and a saw. Dr. Utello grabbed a small surgical knife and lifted it up. Seeing that it was good, she returned to the table

_H-hey! Who are you? What the hell are you doing?_

It was no use. The doctor placed the knife to her chest and cut as she would in any other autopsy.

Cinder's eyes cracked with pain. She screamed furiously but none could hear her. _This pain! IT HURTS! WHY CAN'T I MOVE? _Her blood flowed down the table to the small little drain as the doctor finished cutting up the first part of her body.

"It appears the cause of death was a stab wound reaching her liver. There appears to be no sign of hesitation so we can rule out suicide." The doctor places the surgical knife in the small metal tray as Cinder twitched in tormented pain.

"Next, I'll dissect her abdomen and check inside, just in case." Cinder could hear her say as she felt something inside her move. "Her liver is very healthy. It's a very nice color." Cinder was panting painfully as she heard the doctor pick up the saw and put it to her body.

Her sclera cracked as she felt the saw cutting into her body. Cinder screamed like she never had before, feeling a pain she never thought was possible. The world ripped apart once more as she died from the pain.

She was kneeling on the side street of a city, probably Vale. Gasping, panting for air, she held her arms out shaking. Clothed once more and alive, she looked around. "I-it was just a dream? Am I just dreaming?"

Cars were passing by rapidly as she was very close to the actual street itself. The night sky shone down on downtown Vale. "But… it's happening again… what time is it… where am I?!"

Cinder held her hands up and looked at her own palms. "I was Haven Academy…. and that feeling. That unimaginable pain I experienced in the autopsy room." Cinder crosses her arms on her chest, feeling her heartbeat. She was alive. But she had died. "It was too real to be a dream!" Cinder began panting harder and harder as she recalled the intense pain of being cut open on that table.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Are you alright? Why are you hunched over like that? Are you not feeling well?" An old man asked from behind her, causing her to snap her head around. The old man's dog began barking causing her to jump up. "Hey! Stop that!" The old man chided to his dog but the creature did not.

Cinder got up in a hurry and backed away. In the process she felt herself backpedal and trip on the curb directly into the road. _What in Remnant is this? I couldn't possible die in such a stupid manner!_ She hit the road and the oncoming car wouldn't be able to stop on time anyways. _Don't tell me this is…. the power of Gold Experience Requiem!_

The car slammed into Cinder and turned her into a mangled corpse.

It slowly began to fall on Cinder after her next death. This was her fate. She had died again. Then she went somewhere else and died again. Always something different. She had begun to lose track very quickly of her deaths.

Cinder was kneeling in front of a tree in a field, sweating and panting. A little girl was curiously looking at Cinder, a little Beowulf teddy in her arms. _How many times am I going to die?_ she thought in vain as the little girl cane closer.

"Are you ok, miss? Does your tummy hurt?" The girl asked innocently as she stepped closer to Cinder who was trembling in fear. The once fearsome and powerful Fall Maiden was reduced to a dithering mess cowering before a child.

She lifted her hands and crawled backwards bit by bit. "Stay… stay back!"

The girl wouldn't listen and came closer to Cinder who screamed in abject fear, reeling back and pointing at the little girl.

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"

* * *

_Many weeks later… _

Their quest did not end at Haven. Even with Cinder's defeat, Salem was still their enemy and they needed to stop her. Traveling to Argus was no big feat. A simple train ride was all it was meant to be, catching Blake up to speed. Of course as per usual, something had to go wrong. That damnable Relic just had to attract Grimm.

So they had decided to split up. Ren and Nora would stay with the front half of the train while Team RWBY, Qrow, Oscar and Jaune stayed with the other half. Imbuing Ren with lasting life energy let him conceal the entire front car with his semblance, letting the Grimm come to the remaining huntsmen.

And as was standard, they crashed the train. How very typical Jaune had thought.

Of course everything got a lot worse after that. Jinn. The lost fable. Knowing the truth about Salem. That she was immortal. That she couldn't be killed. Jaune and Yang were the most furious but their fury was tempered by a squat old lady who had remained in the latter half of the train named Maria Calevara.

They had found Brunswick Farms and the horrors that lay within it. They faced doubt and fear and pure apathy. They faced them and conquered them and made it to Argus where they were met by Ren and Nora. They were utterly relieved to see their friends and team leader again. Especially when they had someplace important to take him to.

They all decided they'd crash at Jaune's sisters home after asking. Then they split up.

Jaune was dragged down the white streets of Argus, being exposed to its majestic sights and smells. Ren and Nora had led him down a winding path all the way to a cozy brick house that puffed plumes of grey smoke. "Guys, where are you taking… me…."

Jaune's voice had trailed off as the door opened slowly. Inside was an older woman with bright red hair and glasses. His mouth was dry as he struggled to form his words. Nora and Ren were beaming brightly. The red haired woman had a smile on her face as she welcomed Jaune into her home.

Nora leaned up to speak to Jaune. "Go. See her. We had two days already…" Jaune nodded and felt himself being led into the house. His feet were air as he lightly floated without a care in the world.

He was led into their living room and saw that beautiful red hair that belonged to _her._ She was here. "Pyrrha.." he finally said after thinking about what to say. She was sitting in a wheelchair. It had been so long. She spun around to gaze at him with bright emerald eyes that shone with pure happiness. Her missing legs were replaced with cold, dark and mechanical replacements that were not at all like Yang's prosthetic.

"Hello again…"

Jaune ran to her and enveloped her with a deep and passionate kiss. Her hands wrapped around his neck as he knelt to allow her easy access. They were needy and hungry and the two kissed as long as they could. Jaune's hands roamed at her waist. He didn't ever want to let her go. "God. I missed you. I missed you so much Pyrrha."

There were tears shining in his eyes as the two held each other's faces and looked into one another's eyes. Shining azure and bright emeralds. Two lovers seperated once but nevermore. "Jaune…" she whispered softly, almost unbelieving that he was here. "I was so worried for you… Is Diavolo still…?"

Jaune shook his head. His appearance must have been jarring for her. His broken armor had been left behind in Haven while his hair was now cut short. Pyrrha breathed a loving sigh of relief. They were safe and they were together. She pulled him even closer. "Jaune…."

"It's ok...we're here. Ren and Nora and everyone. Even Blake is back.."

"Jaune…." she repeated again, relaxing her hug to get his attention. "Do you remember the night before you left…. The night we… had our first time?"

He nodded. Of course he remembered. How could he forget such a beautiful and passionate night when they were intertwined and connected like never before. "Of course." His hands lightly ran through her soft and gorgeous hair. He loved her hair and she loved it being played with too.

Pyrrha leaned in and kissed his lips softly before speaking. "We did something miraculous that night." Jaune's eyes widened. He leaned back and looked at Pyrrha for confirmation. She nodded. That was all he needed to see to believe.

"C-can I see…" his voice trailed off. Was it a girl or a boy? He didn't want to get his own child's gender wrong. Pyrrha took his hand and felt it shaking.

"It's ok Jaune. I'm here. We're going to be a family… together…" she said as she led him to the small crib nearby. Sleeping inside was a small little figure. The little baby had a tuft of red hair just like her mother. Her tiny chest was rising up and down and the baby held her minuscule thumb in her chubby cheeks. "Say hello to your daughter Jaune. Say hi to Athens…"

Jaune was speechless. His heart exploded with joy at seeing his… daughter. His baby girl. He was a father. "Pyrrha… she's beautiful…. I'm so sorry I wasn't there when she was born and-" His rambling was cut off by a soft kiss on his lips which caused him to melt into her arms.

"It's ok. You're here now. I've told her all about her father too. I know you'll have to go again soon, but you'll be back. I know it. I believe in destiny."

Jaune smiled softly while he cupped her cheek. "Because you're my final goal…" Pyrrha nodded and looked back down at baby Athena.

"Hey Athena" Jaune spoke softly, watching his child sleep. "I'm sorry I haven't been here but I'm here now. Your dad is here now." His Semblance acted on its own and reached out to the crib. Life energy flowed and a little flower came forth, signifying his love for mother and child.

"Jaune… what was that?" Pyrrha asked, surprised. Last time she had seen her boyfriend his Semblance was the ability to skip through time. This was something else.

"Oh right!" he squeaked, trying to keep his voice down to let the baby sleep. Pyrrha shushed him and drew him away from the crib and back to the living room. "Right…" Jaune said nervously and rubbed his neck. "I sorta got rid of Diavolo and King Crimson. Long story. But anyways, this is my uh, true semblance I guess?"

He lifted his hand and Gold Experience Requiem appeared. It looked at Pyrrha with its beady eyes before kneeling. "It can give life energy…. which means…."

His eyes widened. "Pyrrha! Close your eyes! I'm going to do something for you…."

Pyrrha looked confused, especially at the utterly strange semblance. But she trusted her lover, body and soul, so she shut her eyes and held his hand tight. "Gold Experience. Create life!" Gold Experience Requiem touched both of Pyrrha's mechanical legs. Though she could not see, she felt the energy course through her very essence.

She felt something very strange. Something Pyrrha never thought she'd feel again. One toe wiggled. Then another. Then she felt her foot and all the way up to her waist. Flesh. Blood. The cold mechanical replacements were gone when she opened her eyes. Tears were dripping as Pyrrha shut her mouth in awe. She had her legs back.

She could walk again.

"Jaune…." Pyrrha breathed while trying to stand, falling only to be caught by her boyfriend. "Jaune… oh Jaune thank you… I never thought…. Ironwood personally told me the damage was too severe to replace with working prosthetics…. you…."

Jaune silenced her with a hug and kiss, holding her tight. "The world deserves a huntress as noble and kind and beautiful as you. The world deserves you."

Pyrrha cupped his cheek and leaned back into the kiss while being held in his arms. Jaune continued. "I guess it'll take a while to relearn how to walk but… The Pyrrha Nikos I love never backs down from a challenge."

Pyrrha nodded and pulled herself back up onto her wheelchair. Jaune got up to push her wherever she wanted. He figured that tonight they'd want to…. make up for lost time. Though Jaune would make sure he didn't have a second child so soon.

"How about we go meet with Ren and Nora and get you caught up with Team RWBY as well? They'll be happy to see you."

Pyrrha looked back up at him with an infectious smile. She pecked his cheek.

"That sounds grand."

Jaune laughed and began to push her forward, telling her mother their plan for the day and heading out to Saphron's place to meet up with the gang. Tomorrow they'd have to deal with getting to Argus.

But today they'd simply bask in their love and their future together. Jaune felt giddy thinking about his daughter Athena. He swore he'd be the best father and (eventual) husband he could be.

He felt the arrow in his pocket. His hand went to feel for it which caused Pyrrha to inquire. "What's that Jaune?"

He shrugged and let it lie where it was. "Nothing much really. Just some broken wood."

His true golden arrow, his true requiem, no matter the power he had gained, was with her.

With Athena. With the love of his life.

Pyrrha.

That was his true requiem. Something Diavolo and Cinder could never possibly imagine.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone. It's been a while. I suppose I'll explain where I've been. Skipping Through Beacon was my first fanfiction ever. It had its ups and downs and most recently I just had no desire to write it, getting caught up in other writing projects. But a few weeks ago I got the energy and drive to finish my biggest fic. I owed it to myself and you guys who have followed it from beginning to end.**

**So it took a while, but I hope it was worth the wait.**

**Anyways, the story of Jaune Arc, the arrow, Cinder, Diavolo and Pyrrha has come to a close. Blake and Mista however haven't. Eventually there will be a new series in the Skipping Verse that details their adventure from the fall of Beacon to the battle of Haven. It's tentative name is BEAUTY AND THE BULLET. **

**There will be an epilogue for Skipping soon, but as for the story it is considered finished. **

**I truly hope you all enjoyed this fanfiction and I hope that you will leave your reviews for both this chapter and the entire story as a whole. It has been an honor writing this for you all. **

**As for my other projects, we'll see how they go. I have a fic commission that takes priority but other series will be getting attention.**

**If you're interested in having a fic written (FOR FREE!) please check my profile for rules and then send me a DM with your request. **

**As always, please stay safe, stay home and stay happy. My mother is a doctor. Stay home so she doesn't have to get sick treating you. **

**Lots of love ~ Only the Results**


	19. Epilogue

_Alright. No big deal. Just…. first day jitters, that's all…._

Athena gulped down her nervousness as the Bullhead flew towards its destination. Sure she was facing her first day as a huntress in training at the esteemed Beacon Academy, but it could be worse! She could have been like her dad and vomited all over Aunt Yang's shoes. Still, her nerves were fried. She really wished her parents were here.

_They're going to be there already, idiot! _she chided herself mentally

The bullhead roared as it finished its descent and dinged to notify the students that they had arrived. Taking a deep breath she stepped out of the bullhead with her things. A strong gust of wind waved her hair around, blond tipped strands wrapping into her face and mouth. _Ugh_ she thought as she spat them out. With a sigh she marched forwards towards the courtyard.

Athena shut her eyes as she walked, thinking back on why she wanted to be a huntress in the first place. _To be like mom and dad. To help people! To save people! _

She felt her fear ebbing, remembering exactly why she wanted to be here in the first place boosted her confidence. Of course she probably shouldn't have closed her eyes to do so. With a thud she hit the ground and looked up. Soft blue eyes saw white, almost silver hair. Looking down at her was the angry face of a rather rich looking girl. She was holding briefcases that had some vials of dust spilled out.

Rising from her downed position she sheepishly began to apologize. "S-sorry I didn't see you I-"

"You what? Had your eyes shut?!" the other girl erupted. Athena nodded, sadly affirming the fact. "Gods, you really had your eyes closed?!"

Athena shifted her feet around in pure nervousness. "I really am sorry!"

The other girl face palmed and continued ranting at her. "Do you know what this is? This is Schnee Dust Company dust! The finest of the finest!"

Athena pulled at her neck before she spoke again. "Wait, Schnee?... Like Auntie Weiss?" Before the girl had a chance to continue she paused. Wait…. she knew this person! It had been a while but she definitely lemw this person!

"Athena?!"

"Summer?!"

The two of them shouted simultaneously before profusely apologizing to one another. The two might have stayed locked in their apologetic duel if not for the timely arrival of a third person, a boy with dark hair and bright lilac eyes, along with a pair of ears on his head. They were a strike contrast to Athena's ombré blond ripped hair or Summer's white and red streaked locks.

With a smirk he whistled for their attention which was almost instantly provided. Standing before the two girls was Jian Xiao-Long Belladonna. He was standing proud and steadfast as the two looked anywhere but towards him. He looked so incredibly amused at his friends before breaking into a laugh. The tension evaporated as the three pulled each other into a big hug.

"It's great to see you guys again!" Summer said, practically squealing with delight. Athena felt the same way. It was good to have friends, family even, by her side at Beacon. It made it all a little less scary.

"The feeling is likewise girls. Come on, Rea is waiting in the main hall!" Jian led them towards the place all the students were meant to be. As they walked, Athena again bumped into someone else, this time with her eyes open. She cursed herself for being such a clutz. Mom said she inherited it from dad.

"So..sorry!" She stuttered as the other girl looked at her. She was damn intimidating.

"Watch where you're going!" was all she said before walking off. "Yare Yare dawa…" She said under her breath.

Athena sighed while Summer patted her back. "There there. Mom says your dad was worse at your age.."

She groaned at the thought of Aunt Ruby and her dad back at Beacon. It must have been a disaster! Still, they did make for good stories.

Inside the hall was a wide array of students, faunus and human alike. In the distance Athena could see Rea Ren-Valkyrie waving them over. They enthusiastically approached their friend and began speaking to one another. Catching up, talking about cute boys and girls in Summer and Rea's case. Their chatter was cut off as a hushed whisper spread across the entire hall. One thought echoed throughout them all, and it was the electrifying notion of the headmistress arriving. And she did arrive.

Even in her age, she was immaculate. Her shoulders defined, her body toned. Despite showing the wear of motherhood, she wore it well. Her circlet remained as golden as it was in her youth. Red hair flowed down in a ponytail as Headmistress Arc-Nikos gazed upon the future Hunters and Huntresses of Remnant. Salem was gone, but the Grimm remained. The world still needed heroes.

"Good afternoon, everyone" she began. All eyes fell upon her. All eyes fell upon her. "I know why you are all here. Because the world requires those that will take up the call and become Huntsmen and Huntresses. But for now, you are merely children with thoughts of being heroes."

Athena swore she saw her mother's gaze rest upon her before she continued. "Here, we will teach you to be more than idealized heroes upon pedestals. We will teach you to be true to your own destinies and to become better people first and foremost. That is all."

Just like that she was gone, the Deputy Headmaster informing all the students that initiation began tomorrow morning and to get some rest. Athena took the time to set up her Pumpkin Pete bedroll (courteously of her father) and shut her eyes, preparing for the morning.

* * *

"How do you think I did?" Pyrrha asked as she opened the door to her office. The short haired blond man followed behind her. He locked the door behind him as he entered.

"Wellll I think you got less students this year. Definitely saw a lot more confused faces last time." Pyrrha gave her husband a faux pout before laughing. The Headmistress of Beacon Academy had always enjoyed playing the same trick on each year of new students. It was something she had inherited from predecessor Ozpin.

"Though you did get one girl," Jaune pointed out. He had seen their daughter practically melt before the gaze of her mother. Pyrrha sighed.

"I still don't know Jaune… I know she trained hard but… do you think?..."

Jaune sensed his wife and her doubt. Like always he swooped in to act as her rock, as she was for him. Coming up behind her, he nuzzled her neck and showered it with soft, slow kisses that caused her to lightly moan before he wrapped his arms around her, resting on her stomach. Jaune Arc knew the best ways to comfort his wife. "We did all we could as parents. Gods know we know the dangers of the pedestal or the harm of trying to live up to one's family…"

Pyrrha tried to protest. She knew Jaune was right. They'd done their best as parents and Athena had made her choice. "Still…. I'm afraid for her. Her mother is the Headmistress, the Invincible Girl, her father the knight with the Invincible Semblance."

Pyrrha leaned into her husband's strong, firm arms. His arms always comforted her. He always comforted her. Her loyal knight. "It's going to be ok Pyr…. we just have to do our job…. both as professors and parents…"

Pyrrha took a deep breath as she felt Jaune gently kiss her neck more and more, his hands roaming across her belly. "You're right. You're right." Jaune grinned as he practically felt her resolve harden. She spun around in his arms and looked up at him before pressing a kiss to his lips. "We have a big day ahead of tomorrow.

Let's get some sleep…. after we have some fun?"

Jaune smirked as his wife led him to their shared school bedroom.

* * *

Athena continued her breathing exercises as she walked out towards the staging area for initiation. Countless students in their gear, with their weapons out and about. She shuffled with her own slingshot by her side, utterly terrified. Athena knew what was coming. She'd have to come up with a landing strategy just like mom and dad told her. She tried to cool her nerves by remembering the fact her father had to be saved by her mother back when they were at Beacon. She always wondered what they were like back then. They didn't talk too much about their time at Beacon, but when they did she always loved imagining.

Her dorky, heroic father and her courageous, kind mother.

_And here I am. Not even close to being like them…_ she thought before sighing. Eventually she found her place among the rest of the initiates. Her mother and father were out and about with other professors. The Headmistress began to speak to them all, explaining their initiation process. Athena knew it all of course. How she found her partner. How teams were formed.

Looking around she could see her friends, and her family. She also saw the girl she had bumped into the other day. Taking a closer look at her she could see that she was very tall and very toned.

But there was very little time to get a good look at anyone else. Before she knew it, she felt herself being flung into the air with a scream. _Oh gods oh gods oh gods! _she panicked as she flew through the air.

Meanwhile, her parents watched as their students and their daughter were flung into the air. Of course, they were all safe. Nobody had ever died during initiation because of Jaune. His Semblance simply couldn't allow it. Ever since he discovered how Gold Experience Requiem worked, he'd use it to prevent many accidents.

Pyrrha thanked her lucky stars for a husband that could free her hair of all that paperwork.

Athena however, had by now come to her senses and was aiming to find where to land. Her eyes looked and looked for an opportunity to land. Finally, she found it. In a flash she raised her arm and activated her semblance. "Tusk, Act 3!" she shouted as one of her fingernails shot at an angle towards one of the many trees in Forever Fall forest. As soon as it connected, she felt herself being pulled into the rotation, moving it down the tree and ultimately climbing out of it when she reached the ground.

Athena looked up and locked eyes with the girl reaching the ground, her left arm unraveling into string that slowed her descent. She watched as the string rolled back up and reformed into her arm.

It was the girl she'd bumped into. The tall, powerful girl from initiation. Athena gulped. This was her partner. The other girl was dumbstruck as well, groaning and simply saying "Yare Yare Dawa."

Picking herself up, Athena came up to her and nervously greeted the girl. "Uh… I guess we're partners…. names Athena. Athena Arc-Nikos."

The girl raised a brow as she learned this was the daughter of the Headmistress and one of the professors. She rolled her eyes as she gave her own greeting.

"Kujo. Jolyne Kujo."

* * *

So her team had thus formed. Jolyne however was the leader. Athena thanked her parents for that blessing. She'd heard so many team leader horror stories from her dad already. Their dorm room was cozy though I was nothing like home. She knew her parents had a bedroom at Beacon made once they heard Athena was enrolling there.

Her partner however, was a different, mixed story. Jolyne Kujo was aggressive. Brash. She had a foul mouth but a good heart. Fiercely loyal but always a pain. She loved playing pranks with her semblance, Stone Free, and loved telling stories about Auntie Yang. Turns out her father and Yang were close friends. But Athena couldn't complain. Jolyne wasn't so bad. None of her teammates were. Summer and Jian were partners and part of her team as well, so she has family alongside her odd, new friend Jolyne.

Classes weren't so bad either. Professor Winchester was probably her favorite. She loved how he taught history, a subject both her parents were not too fond of in their youth. He offered real life testament to how racism against the faunus was in his youth, having reformed later in his life and had formed a non-profit organization with Velvet Scarlatina as well. She loved redemption stories like that.

Other classes were alright as well. Professor Hill taught political science and government. Professor Schnee, the brother not the sister, taught economics and old Professor Port still taught Grimm Studies. The classes she dreaded however were Combat Classes and….

Semblance Studies.

Her father taught both of those classes. Professor Jaune Arc-Nikos, while being her father, turned out to be a rather strict professor. He did not tolerate missing deadlines, gave constant homework and was merciless with his exams. Truly a different man from the father that stayed up hours when she was a baby, who sang her lullaby after lullaby alongside her mother and was the sweetest man you ever knew.

Athena dreaded his classes the most. And today she was in for it. It was Friday. Two classes remained before the weekend. Sweet sweet freedom. Of course, with her luck, she had Semblance Studies and then Combat Class one after the other.

As she sat down, she gulped as Professor Arc-Nikos walked in. He walked over to the blackboard, wrote some things down and then turned to the class. Athena cringed however when she saw the small contingent of female fans of her father, teenagers who apparently had a "dad crush" on Professor Arc-Nikos. It was almost enough to make her gag.

Plus, none of those hussies could ever match mom.

"Good afternoon class, I'll be collecting your papers on Semblance Awakening Theory at once. Once I'm done I'd like you all to open your textbooks and please turn to chapter seven, page 235. We'll begin where we left off regarding theoretical Semblance altering and evolution."

Athena nervously pulled out her paper. Her partner Jolyne slid hers, in that terrible handwriting of hers, towards her dad. Athena cringed as she looked at her slightly crumpled paper and tried to flatten it out before the professor arrived. Looking up she saw her dad waiting. Like a deer in headlights she quickly put it in his hands.

Jaune just looked at her and slightly winked. Yes he was a strict professor, but he was always putty in her hands.

"I'll get these all graded by Sunday. Alright. Now, last time we discussed how semblances were drawn out. Now we will begin our discussion on theoretical concepts, namely Semblance evolution. While all semblances are believed to be firmly static, research has indicated that semblances can and have evolved in various ways. Different applications being discovered are considered as evolutions though some semblances have truly changed entirely."

Athena listened as her father expertly discussed Semblance theory with them. As she took notes, she marveled at how her father once struggled to find his own semblance, and was now one of the leading minds in theoretical semblance research.

"Professor Arc-Nikos?"

Athena looked up as Coco Adel Jr broke her out of her trance with her voice. "Yes Ms. Adel?" her father replied.

"Didn't your Semblance evolve? Not to pry or anything but we all really would like to know if the gossip is true."

Jaune sighed and leaned against his desk. "Alright well, it is true, my Semblance has…. evolved, in the past. But the method in which it did so was extraordinary. A method I can't really explain to you all." A hushed murmuring went out between the students. All the rumors and gossip they'd heard was confirmed. The unknown and all powerful semblance of Professor Arc-Nikos was real, and it came through a way impossible to ever be repeated. It was the teenage gossipers dream.

Before more questions could be asked, the bell had rang. Athena was suddenly bombarded with new homework assignments, before being rushed out to combat class.

There, she was faced with an ever harder side of her father. Her dad wanted to bring out the best in his students, especially those who hadn't discovered their semblances yet.

"Alright class!" Jaune said loudly and quieted down his students. "Today's going to be pretttty easy. Just pick a partner and spar for a bit, before coming up to the arena for a match. You can pick anyone."

The students usually paired with their friends or anyone who was left. The best fighters often paired up too. Summer Rose-Schnee was always a dauntless choice, the second coming of the Invincible Girl it was said.

Athena herself was paired up with Jian, Auntie Yang's son and her friend. Her partner Jolyne was paired with Rea.

Jian's weapons were intricate nunchucks, inspired by one of his mothers best friends, Sun Wukong. It's ranged aspect was an electrical whip like Ilia Amitola's, another friend of the family.

"Hey" Jian said, breaking the silence as the two warmed up. Athena nervously held her own weapon. Her slingshot-Sword was more of a secondary weapon, but her parents had trained her well enough in using it.

"Hmm?" Athena said in return. Jian was swinging his weapons around in the air gracefully. Everyone else's weapons had always made her feel inferior, despite knowing her semblance most certainly outclassed all of theirs.

"You seem kinda out of it?" Jian put his hand on her shoulder worryingly. He had noticed something was off back in Semblance studies.

Athena shook her head. These were her problems, and she wouldn't dare burden them on her friends and teammates. "It's nothing. Just… tired."

Jian didn't buy it. He was always able to tell when something was wrong. "Athena…" his voice was stern but kind.

"It's dad… and mom….. I just…. I don't know how to explain it. It's just…. they're them and I'm me…. Everyone knows that I'm their kid. They're all gonna be looking at me. I know dad has to be impartial, but his classes… he's so unlike himself."

Jian seemed to understand perfectly however. His moms were famous too. All those that defeated Salem were. "Yea…. I get that. When my moms are at some conference or something they get so much more serious. It's like a whole other side of them. Except for when Yang is with Professor Kujo. He's so serious yet she's so lax…. though she did tell me they were friends from when she was younger." Jian shrugged.

Athena nodded and exhaled, having held her breath in as Jian spoke. "I guess we all have legacies to look up to…."

Her eyes moved over to Summer. "Her more than anyone I think" Jian said what they were both thinking.

Summer Rose-Schnee was daughter of Ruby Rose, the silver eyed warrior and of Weiss Schnee, President of the Schnee Dust Company. Much like her own mother, Summer was being touted as the second Invincible Girl.

Athena nodded as their talking was broken by her father. "All right! First ones up, Jolyne Kujo and Summer Rose-Schnee! Come up to the arena and prepare to fight! You'll go until one's aura goes into the red!" Jaune explained as the two girls took their positions. Jolyne winked at Athena. She replied with a thumbs up. Summer may have been as close as family but Jolyne was her partner.

"On your marks…. Begin!" Jaune shouted as the two girls ran towards each other.

Summer's weapon was a spear rifle, much like the Headmistress once used herself. Jolyne however had no weapon, much like her own father. Gunshots rang out and a hail of bullets flew towards Jolyne. She dodged a few but for some reason it seemed simply like they were going right through her!

But Athena knew well before everyone else what was going on. She was smirking as her partner activated her semblance. "Stone Free!" Jolyne shouted, her body unraveling into string. Each time a bullet would have struck her, she unraveled herself and let it pass through harmlessly. It took Summer by surprise who tried to stab at Jolyne. But she was still unraveling, making a tripwire to tangle her foe up. Summer fell and Jolyne wrapped herself back up before unleashing a devastating barrage of fists from her semblance.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" Stone Free shouted alongside its master as Summer was beaten to a pulp. The Second Invincible Girl looked beaten in mere moments. "ORA!" Jolyne shouted as Summer's aura fell to red and she crashed against the arena glass. Stone Free dissipated as Jolyne walked off and Professor Arc-Nikos declared her the winner. Jolyne strolled off towards her partner.

Athena had a silly grin on her face. All her troubles seemed to have vanished after having watched Jolyne perform so well. "That was amazing! I've never seen anyone so fast!" Athena gushed as Jolyne shrugged.

"I just did what my dad taught me."

Athena nodded. Jolyne didn't really talk much about her dad, but from what she heard it was much different than her own.

Suddenly she was feeling a lot less anxious about her own father.

* * *

The Forever Fall Forest was teeming with activity. First year students were collecting sap diligently. Many others were using the opportunity to lounge about and catch up with friends. Athena however wasn't having such a good time.

After a few weeks of Beacon she was starting to get into a rhythm. Dads classes weren't as intimidating, mom wasn't just their indomitable headmistress anymore. Things seemed fine.

Of course, until Harvey Marigold entered her life. The son of Henry Marigold, the less heroic and famous Marigold, was as vapid and shallow as his father. But while his father was stupid but harmless, Harvey was anything but. He was a bully by every definition of the word. Honestly he made a young Cardin Winchester look like a saint.

And Athena was currently his target. She was ridiculed for so many things. Her slingshot. Her hair color. But worst of all, her parents. He mocked her parents so much, always out of earshot of them of course. How she got into Beacon because of 'mommy and daddy' pulling strings. He would insult her by insulting them. Digging up old dirt about how dad had a thing for Auntie Weiss and was "cheating" on her mom with her. It was honestly just gross. Or maybe when he came up with all those mean words about how mom was too good for her dad. She hated that the most. Her dad was the nicest person she knew and mom loved him!

Athena never told her parents about the bullying. She didn't even tell her teammates. Jolyne had a sense of what was going on and Jian almost certainly knew. His Semblance 'Hustle Bones' let him know about imbalances. Imbalance in the weather, in emotion, in voice. That's how he always knew.

But for now she was just holding herself by her team, just distant enough to stay alone but close enough to not raise suspicion. For everyone but Jian of course.

"Hey" he told her as he made his way to the troubled girl. Athena didn't respond and only frowned before turning away. "I know that face. You make that face when you either A, see your parents making out, or B, somethings up."

Athena couldn't help but giggle and make a fake gagging look. It was a sleepover when it happened. She had stumbled upon mom and dad really making out that night! It was horrifying!

"Can't get anything by you, huh?" Athena sighed and turned to face her friend.

"Nope!" Jian told her, popping her P's like Aunt Ruby liked to do. He smiled and put a hand on Athena's shoulder. They were like family, so she let her. "What's on your mind?" Jian asked, beckoning her to open up.

_No running away from this one _Athena figured before sighing once more. She pushed herself off the tree she was leaning on and began to speak. "It's Harvey. He's been making life miserable for me for a while now! I can't do anything about it! He's… he's a real asshole!"

Jian looked a bit confused. Athena was having bully problems? With her semblance? With _her _parents? That didn't make sense.

"And no, I can't tell mom and dad because it'll just make everything worse! What will everyone say if the Headmistress or one of the head professors do something? Harvey and everyone like him would make things even worse. They'd say I'd cried to my mom and dad… like I always do!"

Athena felt a soft wetness at her eyes and awkwardly wiped them away as Jian listened to his friend and teammate pour out to him. "Well, they're your parents but they're also teachers and you're one of their students. They don't tolerate bullying. It wouldn't be any different than any other student" Jian tried carefully explaining, but Athena simply gave a frustrated sigh and shoved his hand off her shoulder.

"You don't get it! If it was anyone else it would be ok, but it's me! Athena Giovanna Arc-Nikos!" She said in a sad, exasperated tone. She couldn't do anything. It wasn't fair. But she couldn't. He'd never understand!

"The daughter of the Invincible Girl and the man with the most powerful Semblance on Remnant! If I can't show people I'm not defined by them, then what am I?"

Jian reached his hand out but had it brushed away as Athena stormed off. "Athena, wait!" he called to her but she was already gone. He slapped a hand to his forehead and settled on getting back to his partner. They still had an assignment to finish.

_I hope she'll calm down… and find a solution to this mess. _

Meanwhile, Athena had rushed off to higher ground. She needed to be alone for a little bit. Up on one of the near ridges. The breeze from the city reached all the way up to Beacon, and it was no different here. The trees were rustling and many leaves fell to the ground because of it.

Athena liked the paradoxical silence of wind. When she was younger she loved how windy nights sounded when she was in bed. That was a long time ago though. The teenage girl was broken from her thoughts when she heard the sound of several voices talking.

She raised a brow and decided to tail whomever was speaking. Following them revealed that it was Harvey and his team. Athena scowled when she saw them standing by the ledge of the ridge. From her vantage point she could see that it overlooked much of the forest and was practically above her team. One of his teammates had several jars of the sticky, sweet sap they were tasked with collecting.

There was also a container that only gods knew what was in it. Whatever they were up to, it was definitely no good. _Are you gonna stay the scared kid hiding behind mom and dad or will you be strong! Like the Invincible Girl's daughter is meant to be!_ she said to herself, trying to get herself to act.

Finally, she began storming towards Harvey. She had a terribly angry look to her face.

"Look who it is fellas" the team leader said with a cocky grin. His teammates turned to face her with those disgusting, leering looks of theirs as if they'd never seen a woman before.

"What do you want Harvey?" Athena shot back with crossed arms. She took a breath and stood up, trying to be brave. _Dad has bullies as a teen too! I can stand up to them! _

"Nothing from you. Though, it's pretty nice you're here. Best seats in the house."

She raised her eyebrows in confusion. What exactly were the bullies planning? They were looking down to where her own team was. Harvey motioned here towards his team and the jars of sap they had. It clicked with Athena.

The buzzing noise from the little box that had was clear. The wasps. _Just like dad told me_.

One of Harvey's teammates must have been one of the kids of an unrepentant member of Team CRDL. Maybe Dove's kids. She didn't know. "I won't let you do that" Athena said firmly, though she was filled with fear.

"Oh yea? You and your little slingshot? You can't do anything but run off to mom and dad! Your partner is a real bitch you know. We'll see her after this knock down a peg or two. Stay outta this if you know what's good for you!"

His two teammates with the jars were aiming for their targets. The third was carefully managing the wasps. They figured she wouldn't act, her being the scared girl she was. One of them was aiming directly at Jolyne Cujoh.

But they were wrong. She was Athena Giovanna Arc-Nikos. Daughter of Jaune Giorno Arc-Nikos. Daughter of Pyrrha Arc-Nikos. The Unbeatable Semblance, the Knight with his champions heart and the Invincible Girl, the Champion with a loving knight.

She wouldn't let these bullies hurt her friends. Hurt her partner. Hurt Jolyne. Her aura was flaming pink. Harvey turned back to her as soon as she did so and looked both amused and confused. They really didn't know much about her semblance but they all knew that her weapon was just pathetic!

"I warned you Athena! Mommy and daddy aren't here to protect you!" Harvey yelled as he pulled out his axe-shotgun. Athena breathed in. Her attack was already done.

Bursting from the ground by Harvey's other teammates were spinning fingernails, sent by Tusk through the dimensional holes of Act 2. They spun and smashed through the jars of sap like bullets and sent their contents flying through the air and onto the would be assailants. "Nyo-ho!" she giggled as she used Act 3 to shoot more nail bullets into the ground to move herself through the dimensional holes away from him.

His teammates had abandoned him by now, the wasps swarming to sting them, leaving only him to face down Athena. Furious and humiliated by how fast Athena had beaten his team with just her semblance alone, as well as being covered in sticky sap, made him run red with rage.

"I'll… I'll…." he shuddered in anger.

"You'll do what?" Athena questioned, sticking a hand to her ear facetiously. She felt a rush of victory run through her. Before she seemed incapable of facing her bully, but their threat of hurting her teammates, her partner, kicked her into overdrive.

Guess she had a lot of her father in her.

Athena could hear the sounds of students rushing to get a professor, as she could now see her teammates coming to the ridge she was on due to the commotion. She turned to them and smiled and waved. Her aura still burned bright pink. Her eyes turned back to Harvey, who was still burning with fury.

"I'll make you pay for this bitch!" he screamed as he charged at her. Athena jumped into the air and shouted "Tusk Act 4!"

She knew she was forbidden to use it against people but she was just too angry. No one threatened her partner. The visage of her Semblance began forming around her when they heard the roar.

Creeping up on Harvey was a furious Ursa Major. Hot air blew from its nostrils and all over the sticky, sap covered boy who had fallen to the ground in terror. His weapon slipped from his hands without even attempting to fight back.

Athena froze. She didn't know what to do at first. _Think! Think!..._

She sprung into action without wasting a moment longer. Deep in her very soul was the desire to protect others, no matter who they were. Just like her mother and father. Just like Jaune and Pyrrha Arc-Nikos taught her to do.

Athena lurched into the air, moving forward with grace and strength together. "Act 4!" she commanded and her semblance struck. Coming forth from her pink aura was Tusk Act 4.

"Chyuuumiiii!" it cried out as it unleashed barrage of punches against the Ursa Major. "ORA! ORA ORA ORA ORA!" it repeated and then finished its attack. The Ursa Major was on the ground as Harvey scrambled away from it.

"Don't touch it" Athena sharply warned as she pulled the scared boy back. The Ursa Major was trapped in the infinite rotation, it's body broken apart and infinitely spinning, each individual atom spinning until there would be nothing left. It crossed dimensional planes and walls and there was no escape, escape for a counter-rotational shot from Act 4.

Harvey looked dumbstruck. He thought he was dead but his enemy, his target of bullying, had saved him. "Why….?" was all he managed to say in the end before Professor Arc-Nikos arrived

"Harvey Marigold! Athena Arc-Nikos!" a voice cried out, first with the harsh tension of a professor and then secondly with that of a distressed father. Jaune ran past her teammates and to the students.

He looked over his daughter at once. "Gods, are you ok Athena? Are you safe?" His voice was filled with worry and anxiety, some.

Athena nodded and motioned over to Harvey. Jaune understood after seeing the sticky sap over the boy before smiling at his daughter and rising. "Mr. Marigold. Get yourself to the school nurse. See if you're alright and then report at once to the Deputy Headmistress's office."

Harvey gulped, looked as if he was going to contest it but backed down. Shamefully he began heading back towards Beacon. Utterly defeated.

"As for you," Jaune said as he turned to Athena. "Come with me."

* * *

Back at Beacon, Athena fidgeted in the Headmistress's office. Harvey has long been chewed out by the one and only Deputy Headmistress Weiss Schnee. Disciplinary action was taken against the boy and his teammates. Aunty Weis often described to her wife and friends at RWBY-JNPR get-togethers that such things were her method of letting off some steam.

_Poor kids_ she thought before reminding herself about what Harvey and his friends were going to do to her friends. _Except maybe this time. You got them good aunty Weiss! _

"Hello again" came from a familiar voice. It was Pyrrha.

"Mom?" Athena said with a jolt before straightening up in her seat. She tried to look the most presentable student she could be as her mother came in, her father behind her, into the office from the elevator.

"Athena…. please. I'm your mom, not your boss…" Pyrrha sighed as she pulled some seats with her semblance to sit beside her daughter. Jaune did the same on the other side of her. Both her parents looked at her with love and worry.

"We wanted to tell you that we're sorry" her dad explained. "Sorry for… being so distant. More than our job requires us to be." He looked to his wife who nodded her agreement as she ran a gentle loving hand through Athena's hair. Both Pyrrha and Jaune hugged her closely.

Athena didn't cry but felt like it. She loved crawling up between her parents' beds at night when she was younger. The feeling of protection and love she felt when she was between them, being hugged, was the greatest. She sighed contentedly and let them continue. "And we wish we weren't. We just thought… well maybe you didn't want us to burden you."

Athena spoke up now with confusion and surprise in her voice. "Burden? Guys… you're my parents. Sure sometimes you're goofy like that one time during Summer's thirteenth birthday but…. you're never a burden."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at her and she felt the soft kiss of her mother on her forehead. She kissed both of them on the cheek. "We just felt that you might have not wanted to be reminded or feel like you had to live up to well…. the pedestal so many people put your father and I."

Athena rolled her eyes but they kept going. She thought her parents were being silly. No matter what they did during the Salem War, nor what semblances they might have, they were still her loving parents first and foremost. "We were scared you might too." Jaune finished for his wife.

Athena decided to answer them by standing up and making them stand to. She pulled the two of them together in a massive hug. "I love you guys. You're my mom and dad. Always, always, always."

Jaune and Pyrrha were taken aback at first but quickly smiled and returned her hug tightly. Their beautiful family. Husband and wife looked at one another, still hugging their daughter.

"We did a pretty good job, didn't we?" Jaune whispered to her.

Pyrrha, smiling brightly at her husband, agreed. "Yes…. we did. And we did it together.."

"Together," Jaune affirmed, voice filled with love. Even in their darkest hours the red strings of fate held their eternal love together. Unending. Eternal love that bore beautiful fruit, their child Athena.

Jaune leaned in to kiss Pyrrha deeply. The pair kissed for a while and deeply too, which eventually caused an "EWWWW! Mom! Dad! Stopppp!" From Athena that caused the family to break into laughter. Pyrrha then kissed Jaune one more time before the three giggled again as the family decided to spend the rest of the day together.

Jaune and Pyrrha took a look at the Headmistress's office, where years ago they almost met their fate. But that was so long ago.

They were here. With their daughter. As a family.

Their eternal love, unbroken and only strengthened with its third member.

Forever.

_**Fin**_

* * *

**And that my friends, after roughly a half year of writing, is the epilogue and ending to Skipping Through Beacon. It was long. It was hard in many places and many places I wanted to quit. I did quit. Numerous times. Quit the fic and quit fanfiction. Form burnout, distractions, school and other writing. I even came out as demisexual biromantic recently, which was very stressful. **

**But I finished it. And I'm not quitting fanfic either. **

**With this monster out of the way, I can focus on other stories, mainly Hero. **

**I want to thank all of you who have read, commented, favorited and followed. It makes doing all this worth it. Thank you for sticking with it until the end. More will follow from me in the coming weeks. **

**Please stay safe out there. Wear a mask. **

**Please leave a review in the comments!**

**See you next time.**

**OnlyTheResults**


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